Chosen of Olympus
by Inquisitor Tanrus
Summary: Kage Bunshin wasn't the only thing Naruto learned from the scroll. He somehow managed to end up with a pair of unbelievably powerful weapons chained to his arms, a demon for a mentor, and a god watching him. God of War XOver. NaruHarem, NaruHinaInoTen
1. A Champion's Beginning

My first foray into Naruto fanfiction… well, at least I have an original idea. Be honest: how many of you saw the words "Naruto/God of War Crossover" and thought "Okay, I can't just walk away from that."?

At any rate, let me just state now that I got this idea long before God of War II was released, and since most of my ideas require Kratos having much better relationships with his fellow gods then he did in the game, this will be massively AU. I may provide an explanation for why they get along relatively well, provided I think of one. I will still be drawing on some of the events, monsters, and weapons from GoW II, but that also means there may be some spoilers for both games.

While my skill at writing romance is a bit suspect, I decided to make this another first for me: my first attempt at love triangles/harems.

Personally, I think this can only end in pain. Not for the characters, for the readers. Anyway, I reserve the right to change my mind if it looks like I can't pull off a convincing four-way romance. If I develop the relationships as I currently plan, Naruto will end up having a harem of three: Hinata, Ino, and Tenten. If I decide to simplify and do just one, Hinata will be the lucky one.

I suppose that covers the important stuff, so on with the story!

Chosen of Olympus 

Chapter One: A Champion's Beginning

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Moonlight fell over a sleeping village. Illuminated in the pale light, Konoha slumbered on. A city at rest, peaceful and silent. It was not to last. Not one of the inhabitants were aware of the events that had been set into motion earlier that very day… events that would forever alter the future of the village, the Elemental Countries, and the world itself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The moon was full and bright, and no clouds halted its luminescence over the clearing in the woods. Uzumaki Naruto sat there, reading a massive scroll by moonlight.

"Okay, just one measly jutsu, right? No problem! I'll be a genin by morning!" His eyes fell upon the first technique upon the Forbidden Scroll. "….Not more stupid clones!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

On the top floor of the tallest building of Konohakagure, the Hokage stirred. The last thing he remembered was working yet another late night, before his aged eyes beheld a blonde vision of loveliness that emptied his mind of all thought and his nose of much blood. Then everything had gone dark… Sarutobi chuckled quietly as he wiped the red stain from his face, knowing that, once again, the most infamous prankster in the village he was sworn to protect had "beaten" him. The boy's creativity was remarkable, but this was getting a bit old. Having the blood dry-cleaned from the traditional Hokage robes was not cheap, after all.

Odd, though, that the boy had left without bragging about his victory. Odder still, that he had launched this latest assault upon an old man's senses so late at night. Why would he come here when Sarutobi would most likely be asleep at home? But the greatest oddity of all was the fact that the cabinet in the corner of the room was sitting with the door slightly ajar. A minor thing, but no shinobi lasted to the age Sarutobi had without learning that paranoia is a valuable survival skill. He rose to check the contents of the cabinet, a sinking feeling reminding him of what was kept within.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto once again formed the seal specified in the scroll. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A soft pop, a puff of smoke, and a rather sickly replication was revealed. "Okay, making progress… at least this one can stand." He formed the seal again. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I want Naruto and the scroll found immediately! Bring both here, and remember, _I_ will be the judge of how much force is necessary. If Naruto is unduly harmed, rest assured that I will not be lenient. I don't know why he took the Forbidden Scroll, but I am sure there is a reason behind this madness." Sarutobi looked over the gathered ninja, consisting of a team of ANBU and a half-dozen academy teachers. He singled out a pair of the latter. "Iruka, Mizuki, the two of you know him best. If either of you find him first, try to reason with him. I will search from here with the scrying stone. Now go, all of you."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto smiled with pride as he surveyed his creations. Three perfect replicas stood with him in the clearing, all giving themselves a once-over, surprise at being whole apparent on their identical features. The three turned to their progenitor, their grins growing to match his own. As one, the four Narutos pumped their fists into the air. "One step closer to Hokage!"

Releasing the technique, Naruto turned to the scroll, still lying there on the ground. "Mizuki-sensei is late. Maybe I can learn a second technique while I'm waiting! They might even promote me straight to chuunin, or even jounin! And then I could boss Iruka-sensei around!" He unrolled the scroll further, until ten feet of parchment lay before him. Numerous techniques of incredible power were described within, but it was the two at the end that caught the young shinobi's attention. The second-to-last entry displayed a large and intricate seal, a spiral that seemed oddly familiar to Naruto, though he could not remember where he had seen it. The final passage, however, was stranger still. A flat plate of bronze, about six inches across and perfectly round, was set into the parchment of the scroll. Etched upon it were numerous characters in a language Naruto could not understand, set around the edge. The middle was taken up by a marking that resembled nothing so much as a horseshoe, with the rounded side at the top and the ends pointing down.

The text around the plate was in an archaic form, but as best he could understand it, it was words to the effect of:

_If your need is great, and your soul is strong, pray for the aid of the Lord of War, Slayer of the Hydra, the Seeker of the Ultimate Weapon. Summon He-Who-Climbed-Out-of-Hades, Butcher of the Minoan Bulls, Gouger of the One Eye. Call upon the Ghost of Sparta, Savior of the City of Athena, Murderer of the Tyrant of Conflict. If your courage allows, spill your blood across the Omega, and give voice to the name Kratos, True God of War._

But be warned, mortal, for if your soul is found wanting and your cause is unworthy, you will be cast into the River Styx before you can say but a word.

"Huh. What does all that mean?" Naruto was cut off from further pondering by a voice from behind him.

"Naruto…Exactly what are you doing with that scroll? Do you realize how much trouble you've caused?!"

"Iruka-sensei! Look! I've figured out one of the jutsus! If I show you, I pass the extra credit test, right?" Iruka stared at his favorite student with wide eyes. Seeing the dismay on his teacher's face, Naruto began to realize that not all was as it should be. "…This is the extra credit test, right? Steal this scroll from the Hokage's office, and learn a jutsu from it? Mizuki-sensei described the scroll, I'm sure this is the one…"

"_Mizuki_ told you all of this?! But why would…?" Another voice called out from the forest, this one filled with malice and dark glee.

"Oh, Iruka, you got here first? Too bad for you…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto crouched in the brush, staring horrorstruck at the scene before him. Iruka was wounded, the injuries inflicted by a traitorous comrade, all in the work of protecting Naruto. The child's mind was still reeling from the things he had learned in only the past few minutes. Mizuki was a traitor who wanted to kill Naruto and steal the scroll. Iruka acknowledged Naruto as a person and as a friend, and was willing to give his life to save Naruto's. And the biggest shock of all: the true fate of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the fearsome beast that had nearly wiped Konoha off the map twelve years earlier. So much was explained now…

But that was something to dwell on later. Right now, Iruka needed help, or he was going to die. That was not an option.

Naruto leapt from his hiding spot in the middle of Muzuki's rant on how powerful the scroll would make him, interposing himself between the wounded teacher and the traitor. "You're not getting away with this! I'll stop you!"

"You?" Mizuki scoffed. "The dead-last? And how exactly are you planning to do that, demon? I could defeat a worthless fool like you in one blow."

Iruka struggled to stand up. "Naruto! Run, take the scroll, get out of here!"

Naruto, true to form, didn't listen. "One blow, huh?" He moved his hands into a seal. "Try this on for size. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Did you really think a few clones would be enough to beat me? Even if you did learn how to make shadow clones, they're still only as strong as you are! Even ten weren't enough! You would need an army of them!"

Believing Naruto to be out of the fight for good, Mizuki turned to finish Iruka before making his escape. But as he raised his preferred weapon, a massive shuriken, Naruto awoke. Ignoring the searing pain in his chest and stomach, the deep wounds left by Mizuki's kunai bleeding freely, Naruto reached for the scroll beside him. He pushed it open. Once again he saw the strange metal plate and its warning, and the twelve-year-old boy made a decision.

His need was great, and while he wasn't sure how strong his soul was, saving Iruka-sensei was worth any risk. Besides, the punishment didn't sound so bad. Swimming down a river never hurt anybody, right?

Hand already soaked in his own blood, Naruto reached out and grabbed the plate. A patina of red coated the depressions on the bronze. Naruto looked upward, and shouted to the heavens with all the desperation that fueled him. "_KRAAAAAAAATOOOOOOOOOOOS"_

Both teachers turned to Naruto, wondering what that was all about. For a second, nothing happened. But just as Naruto began to despair, the bronze began to glow. It was soft at first, but it quickly grew into a white flash that obscured the vision of both the teachers and the Hokage, who had located the disturbance with his crystal ball just a few moments before. For them, it was merely a bright light, which died out after a few seconds. But within…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto found himself floating in an endless void of white. He could see nothing in any direction, but suddenly he stopped moving and could feel ground beneath his feet. Whatever he was standing on had no visible difference form the rest of the emptiness, so Naruto seemed to be standing in thin air. A disconcerting feeling, to say the least.

The pain was gone. So were his wounds. The genin stared at his body, then at his surroundings. "Am I…dead?"

"**If you were dead, you would be in the Underworld. I assure you that it is a far less pleasant place.**" The voice seemed to echo from everywhere and nowhere. It was deep, it was menacing, and it carried the conviction that everything it said either was true, or would be made true by force.

Naruto whipped around, seeking the voice's source. "Who-… where-… what are you?!"

"**I am Kratos**." With alarming suddenness, a pillar of flame shot up from the ground a short distance away. It disappeared almost as quickly as it had come, revealing a massive humanoid form. Naruto stared wide-eyed at the tremendous man before him. He stood tall, at least seven feet of solid muscle, and power seemed to flow off of him. The man, if that was what he was, wore only a ragged tabard around his waist, sandals, and armored greaves. His skin was a pale, ashen white, with the exception of a large red tattoo that spiraled around his left shoulder and over his bald head, to end over his left eye. Over his right eye was a long, disfiguring scar that ran vertically from his scalp, down through the eye socket, to end on the man's cheek. Naruto could see a pair of weapons sheathed at his back. The boy could not tell the nature of the weapons, as he could only see a pair of golden hilts above their bearer's shoulders.

He looked down at Naruto, and raised a hand to stroke his goatee in thought. As he did, the gold chains wrapped around his forearms clinked.

"**One so young? Why would a youngling that has never even spilled another's blood have need to summon me? Bah, what a waste of my time. One so weak as you should never have summoned a God, boy. Since you are so young and foolhardy, I will forgive your impudence this once-**"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. Kratos paused, surprised that this whelp would dare interrupt him in the middle of being spared. "Stop talking like you know me! That scroll said that if I needed help, I should call you! I don't care who you say you are, my teacher is gonna die if I don't do something, and I'm not gonna let that happen! So either help me, or send me back so I can try and do something, you big jerk!"

The god's eyes narrowed. "**Bold words, mortal. None have dared speak to me in such a manner since my ascension. But is your body as strong as your mouth?**" Kratos swung at Naruto backhanded, a light bat by his standards. The full force of the blow caught Naruto in the chest, and he was blasted into the air like he had been shot from a cannon. He had no idea how far he flew, or how high he went. All he knew for certain was that landing was going to hurt. And he was right.

The young shinobi felt sore all over, but he seemed undamaged for the most part. Kratos had meant the blow merely to prove a point. Naruto raised his head, and all he could see of the being that had struck him was a tiny speck off in the distance of the void. He blinked, and opened his eyes to see sandaled feet just a few inches away. "**What say you now, mortal?**"

"… jerk."

"**There is a fine line between bravery and idiocy, whelp. You would do well to find it.**"

"Hey! Who do you think you are, goin' around judging people and calling them weak?! You watch, I'm gonna be the Hokage some day, and everybody will see how strong I am! Then you'll be sorry you insulted me!"

As the child continued to rant about how everyone who laughed at him would see how powerful he could be, Kratos studied him curiously. **_Hokage? Some sort of village leader then? So, he wants to be a hero to his people. _**The god snorted to himself quietly. **_Get in line, boy. What makes you so deserving of glory through the ages?_**

**_…Then again, how often do I encounter a mortal that shows no fear in the presence of a god? And to not only succeed in summoning me, but to survive the process, despite his age… Perhaps there is more to this fool then first appears. I suppose there is no harm in testing his soul. _**This decided, Kratos reached out and grabbed Naruto by the collar in mid-rant. Before the shinobi-hopeful could make so much as a shout of outrage, Kratos had raised him to his face, and the two locked eyes. As the saying goes, the eyes are the windows to the soul…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Images swam before Kratos as he delved in to the depths of the boy's soul. Images of pain, of sadness, of humiliation… of a growing determination to prove himself to those that hated him. Kratos had never seen one who could take such abuse for so long without snapping, either physically or mentally, and the god reluctantly found himself becoming impressed. **_Even childhood in Sparta is not so brutal as this. None of the other children in these visions were treated in this manner. What could be the reason… ah. I see._**

Kratos stood in a dank passageway, water sloshing around his feet. The tunnel lead off into the darkness, and the Olympian immediately strode down it without hesitation. He soon found himself in a massive room, stretching upwards so high that the ceiling was lost in the darkness, and at the far end was a gate that took up the entire wall. And beyond the bars…

A pair of massive red eyes opened, peering at the first visitor to the seal since it had been formed. Serpentine silhouettes writhed in the blackness behind them. The Kyuubi had awoken. **_"Oh? I have guests? And who, pray tell, is so very kind as to visit the prisoner rotting away in this damnable cell?"_**

"**A fox lord? And you, strongest of the Nine Great Demons, no less? This boy _is_ interesting…**"

**_"Apparently interesting enough to draw the attention of one of the Gods of Mount Olympus. And what brings the esteemed God of War to my humble abode?"_**

"**Your vessel summoned me, hoping for my aid. I don't think he realizes what he was getting himself into, even now. But how did you come to be here?**"

The fox's tails lashed angrily. **_"I attacked the village, and was about to raze it to the ground, when their leader attempted a suicidal attack. I was… overconfident, and have paid the price. The mortal sacrificed himself to the Death God, as they call such beings. Whether it was truly a servant of Hades, or something else entirely, I do not know. But my soul was removed from my corporeal form, and I was bound into an infant. The last thing I heard was the human that bound me giving his final instructions to someone. The child who bears this seal we are within was to be hailed as the hero of the city, for being my prison and warden. And I suppose this boy is now lauded for events he had no control over? Events that happened less than a day after his birth?"_**

"**… Quite the opposite. I have read his soul, and this child has known greater suffering than many five times his age. The people of his village, with the exception of only a few, apparently believe him to be some sort of reincarnation or avatar of you, and that he will eventually try to finish your work. He has practically been psychologically tortured since his birth, and several attempts have been made on his life. His soul is so scarred, I am rather surprised that he has not broken by now.**"

**_"They believe he is actually me?… You are telling me they believe this child is a demon with power capable of challenging a god, and is planning to eventually kill them all… and yet they torment and harass him, thus ensuring that whenever he does snap they will be his first targets?" _**

"**You don't need to remind me that mortals are foolish. The surprising part, however, is that he seeks the respect of those who have hurt him and their admittance that they were in the wrong, rather than revenge upon them. I would not be so forgiving. No one I know would be. **" The chamber fell silent for a moment. Kratos was considering what he had learned of the boy, and contemplating a notion that had seemed ludicrous before his trip down the vessel's memory lane. The Kyuubi, brooding in his cell, was wondering how a mortal could have the resilience and brute stubbornness to live in the manner the god before him had described, and how he might best convince Kratos to destroy the seal.

Before the demon had come to any conclusions, Kratos made his decision. "**If I were to offer you a deal, what would you say, fox?**"

**_"I would ask the terms of the deal, of course. What am I to do, and more importantly, what is in it for me?"_**

"**If you uphold your side of our bargain, I will call in a favor from Lord Hades. When this mortal dies and is sent to the Underworld, you will be released from the realm immediately, rather than spending the next few decades fighting your way out. On the other hand, betray our pact, and I will instead ask Lord Hades to intensify the scrutiny placed on you. It will take centuries to win free of his clutches, if you ever do.**"

"_**Interesting stakes, God of War. And my task? What is it I must do to complete this deal?"**_

"**Listen well, demon lord…**"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto dropped from the God of War's grasp, and fell unceremoniously onto his butt. He glared up at the entity that towered over him, and yelled "Hey! What's the big idea, you-" But Kratos cut him off.

"**Boy. You say you summoned me to save your teacher, correct?**"

Naruto scrambled to his feet. "Aw, crap! I forgot Iruka-sensei! What if Mizuki-"

"**How much does he mean to you?**"

"What? Whaddaya mean?"

"**Would you give your life to save him?**"

"…Well, yeah! Of course I would! He got hurt trying to save me, so I can't just let him die!"

"**Why is he so valuable to you? Why would you give your life for his?**"

"… Sometimes… sometimes, when I'm with him, I wonder… if it's what it's like to have a father." Naruto had calmed down now, and was wearing a somber expression that only Iruka and the Hokage had ever managed to glimpse before. "He's the first person to really acknowledge me as a person. He's done so much for me, I need to return the favor somehow."

"**…Then I shall accept the trade. In exchange for your life, I will save his. Stretch your arms out to the sides, boy, and the pact will be sealed.**"

Naruto hesitated. Give his life? He was going to die? But he couldn't keep his promise to be Hokage if he was dead… But he had said that he would save Iruka-sensei, and would give his life to do it. That promise was more important.

"**Well?**"

Naruto reached his arms out as he had been instructed. Kratos raised a hand above his head, gestured towards the sacrifice before him, and gave a piercing whistle that seemed to reverberate throughout the void. For a moment, nothing happened… but then, a pair of the most horrible creatures Naruto had ever seen appeared from nowhere and swept towards them.

The creatures' bodies were shaped vaguely like those of scrawny humans, but with taloned feet and leathery wings. They were frightening to the extreme, but the faces were the most terrible feature. They had heads that resembled human women, but with fanged maws, and their eyes glittered with malice. From each monster's talons dangled a chain, and hanging at the end of each was a weapon unlike anything Naruto had ever seen.

Short, wide blades, two feet long with a slight curve, a foot wide at the widest point, and at least an inch thick. Nasty looking barbs and jags ran along the edges, which were sharp on both sides. The guards resembled fanged skulls of strange beasts, and there was a glowing yellowish gem set in each. Though the weapons looked very heavy, the hilts were only long enough to be gripped in one hand each. "**Accept the gift my harpies bring you, and take the first test.**"

Naruto had kept his arms out to the sides through all this, too shocked to even reach for a kunai, but before he could do so now the harpies released their burdens. The blades landed at Naruto's feet, but the chains seemed to change direction in midair. They wrapped around the shocked youth's forearms, and began to glow red hot. Pain unlike anything the Kyuubi vessel had ever felt before raced up his arms, burning, searing, immolating as a scream rose in his throat.

The pain faded, as did the glow. The sleeves of Naruto's jacket had burned away, leaving the chains wrapped around bare flesh. As he gasped, mind still reeling from the horrendous pain, he realized that the chains now appeared to have bonded with his skin. One loop of metal was bound around each forearm, and the rest of each chain was left dangling, leaving about ten feet of slack between his wrists and the weapons. Burns in chain-link patterns spiraled around his forearms where the chains had laid, but they faded into scars almost immediately. "Wha-what was that?!… Why… what about… what did you do to me?!"

"**I have given you the blessing of the God of War, and the power to save the those you treasure. In surviving having the Blades of Chaos anchored to your body and soul, you have passed the first test.**"

"Test? Blades of _what_?! You said you were going to kill me and…"

"**I said I would take your life, and I have done so. You are mine now, boy. You will bear my mark and my weapons, and you will spread my name in your victories… or die trying. Now go. Go forth in the name of Olympus. **"

Before Naruto could say another word, there was a flash of light, and he found himself back in the forest. He was startled to see that no time seemed to have passed since he had summoned Kratos. Iruka was still alive, albeit wounded and barely conscious, and Mizuki still stood in a battle stance facing the prone teacher. Both had frozen, and were staring at Naruto, neither understanding what had just happened.

That was certainly understandable. The boy had been lying there, likely about to bleed to death. Then he yelled something, there was a flash of light that lasted about a second, and suddenly the near-dead dead-last was on his feet, chains around his arms, and a pair of bizarre weapons in his hands.

Naruto was even more confused, not having understood the events of the last few minutes in the slightest. All he was sure of was that the situation had changed, and no matter what else that meant, it meant that things had gotten a whole lot worse for Mizuki.

…Or at least things would be worse for Mizuki if Naruto had any idea whatsoever how to use the gigantic and rather unwieldy slabs of metal chained to his arms.

As this new problem struck him, Naruto realized that Mizuki was shaking off his shock, and would be ready to attack again. Even healed and with enough chakra left to create many more shadow clones, being weighed down by weapons he couldn't use or even drop would leave him at a major disadvantage. But then, from the back of his mind, he suddenly got an odd feeling, like he was being told what to do.

_throw it… throw…_

'Why would I do that?' Naruto wondered. These weren't exactly balanced for throwing the way kunai were, after all… but the feeling became more insistent, as the voice became stronger and clearer.

Throw the blade at the traitor… 

'Why do I have a voice in my head telling me to do stupid things? What good would throwing these things do?'

Because you have obviously gone insane as a result of meeting with a god. And because crazy humans always listen to the disembodied voices that tell them to do things. Now throw the damned weapon, flesh-sack.

'… Whatever you say, scary voice in my head.'

Mizuki sneered at the boy he had already nearly killed once. "I don't know what you just did, or where you got those, demon brat, but it doesn't make a… whoa!" Halfway through his dismissal of Naruto's miraculous recovery, the demon vessel hurled one of the massive weapons at him. The blade practically leapt from the boy's hand, moving much faster than one would expect, and the metal seemed to ignite in midair. The chain wrapped around the guard unraveled from Naruto's arm like a cable off a spool, as the flaming short sword thundered toward the traitorous teacher. Mizuki barely managed to clear its path before it impaled him, and in his stead it slammed into the trunk of an old tree and sank into the wood.

The two teachers and one student stared at the blade. A foot of metal had disappeared into the side of the tree. No academy student should have been able to throw something that heavy with that much force. Mizuki's gaze traveled back down the chain to Naruto, eyes wide. "Wha… what was _that_?!"

The response he got was the second blade being launched at his face. Mizuki wasn't sure he could get clear in time, so rather than dodge, he whipped his oversized shuriken in front of him, so as to use it as a shield. The blade slammed into the metal with a clang, and with a grunt of effort, Mizuki managed to deflect its remaining momentum upwards. The weapon disappeared among the leaves, leaving behind a massive gouge in the steel of the shuriken. Mizuki grinned coldly at Naruto. "Only a fool like you would try something so stupid as to…"

Whatever Mizuki was going to say, he was interrupted by a loud _Creeeeaak…SNAP! _Mizuki stopped speaking and looked straight up, at the source of the noise.

Ever notice that the expression "heads up" really means "whatever you do, don't look up"?

A tree branch, half-sheared off by the passage of the deflected blade, had collapsed under its own weight. In strict compliance with the laws of gravity, the errant foliage plummeted straight for the ground, with only Mizuki's head to stop its passage. It was not up to the task.

OOOOOOOOOOO One major concussion and a well-deserved graduation later OOOOOOOOOOO

Iruka stood at attention before the Hokage's desk. He had sent Naruto home to rest after all had been said and done, promising to bring both the Forbidden Scroll and the traitor who had tried to take it to the Hokage.

After being briefed about the events that led up to Naruto's theft of the scroll, Sarutobi had agreed that Naruto was to be cleared of punishment for the theft. If a student couldn't trust a teacher, then who could he trust?

Sarutobi was still rather concerned about the whole "belonging to a god" issue, though. Who could blame him? The old man sighed, feeling his years for the umpteenth time that day… and it was only two in the morning. "And you say the weapons are fused to his body? There is no way they could be removed?"

"Not without causing serious damage to his arms, Hokage-sama. I doubt even Tsunade-sama could remove them without causing irreparable damage. And while I know his story about how he got them sounds unbelievable, I don't know how else he could have found them. After all, there is a bloody handprint on the disk set in the scroll…"

"I suppose there's nothing that can be done about it. Unless these new developments become a threat to him or to the village, we will simply have to wait and see. At any rate, I agree with your decision to allow him to graduate. Learning the Shadow Clone technique in a bare few hours certainly suggests that he is capable of acting as a genin. Put him in a team as normal, and we will simply keep an eye on his progress. Oh…and one more thing…"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

The old man smiled for the first time since the theft. "Get some sleep. You look like hell."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto awoke bright and early the next morning. Still groggy from a long night with little sleep, he yawned as he raised an arm to rub the sleep from his eyes, and was entirely surprised to feel an unaccustomed weight on his arm, and to hear a soft clinking of metal on metal. His eyes shot open, and they followed the chain trailing across the floor to the twin blades left in the corner. _Last night… it was all real… and… and that means…_ He glanced at the small table next to his bed, saw a Hitai-ate etched with the spiral of Hidden Leaf in place of his normal goggles, and let out a loud whoop of victory.

His elation was cut short by a second realization: What had happened _after_ he had gone to sleep last night had happened too. As that thought solidified in his mind, a voice, dark and old and cunning, echoed in his head. **_Damn straight it happened, boy. _**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After falling asleep that night, Naruto had been tormented by strange visions. Some were familiar scenes from his own life. Looks of scorn and hatred, punctuated by the occasional beating, were played out before his eyes. But that wasn't what held his attention, he had learned long ago not to dwell on such things. No, what really had him confused were the visions he had never seen before in his life, and were of places and things that he had never heard of.

He saw a massive army, resplendent in bronze armor and marching under banners that had a triangle as the central image (though something seemed to suggest to him that the insignia was called a lambda).

He saw the same army being cut down like wheat before a scythe, iron discipline and perfectly honed skills not enough to counter the berserk ferocity displayed by the fur-clad barbarians that surged forward in a howling tide.

He saw the leader of the army fighting madly, slaying dozens of his foes even as his soldiers died around him. Spurring his horse ever onward, he continued his one-man charge against his enemies even as his army began to fall back.

Naruto watched in horrified fascination as the brave (or foolish) captain was met by his opposite number, the leader of the horde. The captain's sword, notched and dulled by long hours of use, was shattered by the barbarian's massive hammer, as was his shield. The chieftain's return swing caught his foe in the chest, and the man fell on his back, at the barbarian's mercy. As that enormous hammer was raised, Naruto finally saw the face of the man who had been leading the army. Bald head, goatee, even the same tattoo and distinctive scar. Though he looked younger and his flesh was a normal hue, it was clearly Kratos.

Even as Naruto wondered how someone who called himself a god could be beaten by a human, Kratos howled something in a language Naruto had never heard before, yet understood perfectly.

"Ares! Destroy my enemies, and my life is yours!" 

The sky opened up, and a titanic figure dropped to earth, it's hair glowing like molten magma and hellfire burning in it's narrowed eyes. Kratos kneeled and bowed before the massive man, and Naruto watched as harpies appeared and gifted Kratos with weapons practically identical to those bound to the young shinobi.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The tide of visions ended, and Naruto found himself standing in what appeared to be a flooded service tunnel, concrete walls and dripping pipes everywhere. Cold, dark water sloshed ankle deep in the poorly lit passage. Confused as Naruto was, he decided he had nothing better to do but explore a bit. No sooner had he come to this conclusion then a harsh red glow began to emanate from some point off in the distance, down the hall.

"**_This way, brat. We have much to discuss."_**

Naruto blinked. It was the same voice he'd heard during the fight with Mizuki, but now it was far louder and much clearer. And it was coming from the same direction as… the… glow?

Naruto suddenly realized that he had followed the voice and the light back to their source without even noticing. The hall opened up into a massive room, hundreds of feet on each side and a ceiling that disappeared into the darkness above. At the far end the room, a row of pillars rose from the ankle-deep water on the floor. Chains led from the hall Naruto had just left along the walls of the chamber, and were woven among the pillars until they met in the middle, connected by a scrap of paper that had a single word inscribed on it: Seal. And as a massive form loomed out from the darkness, everything fell into place.

"**So after nearly thirteen years, I finally meet my jailer face-to-face. Based on what the Olympian told me, you've had an interesting life, runt." **

Naruto was frozen, not moving, not breathing, not blinking. If the creature before him were to be let out of its cage, it would stand at least as tall as the Hokage Monument overlooking the city. "…K-…K-… Kyuubi…"

"**_Oh, good. You aren't _completely_ oblivious to the obvious. Now listen well, because you have much to learn, and I dislike repeating myself."_**

"…Much to learn? What the hell is going on?! Where are we?!"

**"Quiet down, brat. Your questions will be answered in due time. As to where we are, this chamber is your mind's attempt to give recognizable form to something that has none, namely, the seal. Simply put, we are in your mind… which goes a long way towards explaining why it's so empty in here."**

****Naruto bristled at the insult, but before he could snap out a retort, the fox continued.

**"You have been chosen to serve as the God of War's champion, and it is my task to ensure that you don't die too soon."**

Whatever Naruto was going to say died on his lips at that point, as he stared wide-eyed up at the fox, once again rendered speechless.

**"…Maybe I should start at the beginning."**

"Yeah. That would be good. 'Cause I am getting really sick of not knowing what's going on!"

**"Here's the simple version: When a mortal begs one of the Olympians for aid, they are in essence offering an exchange of services. If the god is willing to do what is asked of them, they will often give the mortal a task to accomplish or a price to pay. If a god decides to become a mortal's patron, they will give their favor and aid in exchange for a lifetime of devotion and service. Since you called Kratos, the God of War, and he accepted your terms, you are expected to spend your life moving from battle to battle, fighting and killing and letting everyone know who you serve in the process. Since you are planning to be a shinobi, you were going to be doing that for most of your life anyway, so this works out well for you. You understand so far?"**

Naruto nodded, his face scrunched up in his 'thoughtful' expression. "I think, but what do you mean 'Olympians'?"

**_"The gods that live on Mount Olympus are collectively known as Olympians. There are many pantheons of entities that held sway over parts of the world at some point or another, such as the Asgardians, but most of them now prefer to have nothing to do with the mortal realm, for a variety of reasons too complex to bother explaining right now."_**

"You don't know why, do you?"

**"Shut up. At any rate, no god has ever chosen a champion as young as you, and they most often are already seasoned warriors even before they are given their tasks. This puts you at a disadvantage. However, Kratos also struck a deal with me. I will act as your guide and mentor, and I will teach you how to use those magnificent weapons you have been provided with." **

"You know how to use these things? And you're going to teach me? Wait, why would you do that? You're the Kyuubi, the most powerful demon ever, you tried to wipe out the village! Why would you help me?!"

**"As I said, Kratos and I struck a deal. As it stood before, when you eventually died I would be cast into Hades with you, where we would separate and go to our judgement individually. It would be a long time before I could win free of that place, even with my great might. Now, though, assuming Kratos is satisfied with my performance, I will be allowed freedom immediately. And no, I don't know how to use 'those things'. I've never had much use for human weapons, and the Blades of Chaos are unlike any weapon made by mortal hands. I was told that a training manual would be made available to us, and by studying it, I will be able to guide you." **

"Wait, I'm still confused. What's to stop you from just letting me die so you can leave?"

**"That's why Kratos must be satisfied with what I teach you. If I give you poor advice and you die because of my neglect, Hades will tighten his grip on me and I will never escape, at least not for a very long time. On the other hand, if you die because you did something really stupid despite my warnings, or if you encounter a foe you just plain can't defeat, that's not my fault. Pretty much, if your death is either from natural causes, or if it's a glorious death, then I've done my job." **

"…Uh… if you're in the seal, how are you going to teach me? Will I train in here, or something?"

**"You see these chains on the walls? The Olympian added an element to the seal, that's what those represent. I will now be able to access your senses to see the world around you, and they allow me to project my thoughts in your mind. You can simply think a response back at me, no need to make anyone think you're talking to yourself. Through this, I can measure your progress and guide you while training. Now I think we've covered all of the important details, and the manual is to be delivered in the morning, so you need to get up early tomorrow. Get some sleep."**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto sat at his table, waiting for his breakfast ramen to finish boiling. Hs new weapons were on the table before him, as he studied them. He sighed as his gaze traveled from the point, down the edge, to the guard and its oddly-glowing jewel, and down the chain wrapped around the blade's base. As powerful as the Blades of Chaos obviously were, they were also bulky and difficult to carry. The blonde couldn't understand how anyone could use them effectively if the only alternatives were to constantly wield them or to drag them along the ground. It only served to prove his point as he went to take the ramen off the stove, and the hanging chain nearly knocked over the pot. A few drops of boiling water landed on his wrist, and Naruto cursed vehemently under his breath.

"**My my, such language from one so young?"** Naruto whipped around, instinctively reaching for a kunai. His apartment had been broken into before, and he wasn't about to be caught unawares again.** "Quite inventive, though. I'll need to remember that one for the next time Dionysis throws a party. I take it you're Naruto?"**

Naruto stared at the newcomer with wide eyes. A handsome young man had apparently appeared from nowhere, and currently seemed to be lounging in midair. A halo of fire ringed his head of curly golden hair, a wide smile played across his lips, and each of his gold-laced sandals had what looked to be a pair of tiny wings attached to the heel, flapping furiously. "Yeah… yeah, I'm Naruto. Who are you?!"

The stranger's smile grew wider. **"I thought you'd never ask… Who am I? I am the Inventor of Fire, the Lord of Thieves, Patron of Travelers, son of Zeus, I am the Messenger of Olympus! I am Slayer of Argus, the Great Persuader, the Grand Trickster! You ask who I am? Hermes is my name,"** he ended with an almost mocking bow.

"Wow… you Olympian guys really like your titles, huh?"

To Naruto's surprise, the flying god threw his head back and laughed. **"Kratos was right about you! You _do_ have the perfect combination of self-confidence, bravery and stupidity. Maybe you're good champion material after all. Oh, and that reminds me why I came here to begin with. I believe this is yours." **Hermes reached into his satchel, a simple leather bag marked with the embossed image of a snake curled around a staff, and pulled out a scroll. **"Kratos asked me to deliver this. It contains instructions on how to use those blades properly, as well as a number of more advanced techniques. Only a few, though. More will be made available as you prove your skill and prowess."**

"So with this, I can learn how to use these Chaos Blade things without cutting off any arms or legs?"

The winged messenger's smile took a turn for the nasty as he answered**. "Oh, I assure you, if you use the Blades of Chaos properly, you'll be removing limbs… they just won't be yours."**

"Um… well, that's good. I just wish I had a way to carry them easier. I don't have a sheath or anything, and the chains get in the way."

Hermes' smile dropped away into a look of surprise. **"Kratos didn't… no, I suppose he wouldn't have. Sheathing the blades is simple. Didn't you see how Kratos stows his set of chained blades?"**

Naruto put on his thoughtful face again as he tried to remember. "He… had them on his back, right?"

"**Mm-hmm. But did you see any kind of harness or sling for them to hang from?"**

"I'm guessing no?"

"**Good guess. He doesn't need them. My step-brother Hephaestus made them that way. Just cross them over your back."**

Naruto picked the Blades up off the table, watching as the chains spooled up his forearms. He raised the weapons over his head, and rested them against his shoulder blades. As they settled into a comfortable position, he felt the chains loosen and detach from the guards. For the first time since the Blades of Chaos had been grafted to his body, Naruto had full use of his arms again.

"**Nice trick, isn't it? Hephaestus truly is the master of the forge. Now, here's one more to try. Ol' Limpy added something new to these he wanted me to tell you about."**

"Another trick?" Naruto was getting excited now that he realized that his burdens weren't as unmanageable as he had feared. "Is it some awesome super technique, or something?"

"**No, no, those are all in the scroll here. This is something else. Even hanging on your back, the Blades can still get in the way. For instance, they have a tendency to tear up whatever you're sleeping on, or maybe you wish to keep it a secret that you're armed. Anyway, what you need to do is draw a little of your own blood. Do as I do." **Naruto mimicked Hermes as he raised both hands to his face, and bit down on both thumbs. Though the Olympian didn't bother piercing skin, Naruto did, and blood began to drip down his hands. The blonde then continued to ape Hermes' actions and drew his bleeding digits down his forearms, across the loops of chain. His only warning was the growing heat the chains and blades were emanating before he collapsed, writhing in agony, as a horrible burning spread across his arms and back.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I hope to have the entire bell test in the next chapter, so you can expect more action. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter done in less time then it took me to write this one, but it may still be two or three weeks. Of course, reviews give me greater incentive to work on this…

Until next time!


	2. A Deadlast Moving Forward

Wow! One chapter, and fifty-one reviews! I want to thank everyone who told me they liked what I had done, as it is you guys who kept me on a roll. Now, to answer a few questions: 

Dr. Gero, it is true that Kratos wouldn't care to hide the blades, but he didn't make them. It's something Hephaestus added as an extra, and Hermes was the one to tell Naruto about it. Besides, as you will see this chapter, the mark of Kratos is always there, even when the blades are hidden…

Ketsy, that sword is called the Blade of Artemis, and no Naruto won't get it… but that doesn't mean he won't get other skills and weapons…

VFSNAKE, no, Naruto won't have those tattoos. As cool as they would look on him, only a total zealot would go to such effort to look just like his god, and Naruto isn't one. He might mimic them in facepaint for special occasions. Also, the city-state Kratos hails from is called Sparta, not Sparda. And why would Kakashi hate Naruto?… Okay, there are plenty of reasons why he might, but he didn't in canon, and he won't here.

never give guns to chimps, what do you mean Naruto should be stronger? He was in exactly one fight so far, and he won. And exactly what does I "made the gods a little AU" mean? Do you mean OOC?

P.S. No. Three is enough.

Oh, right, and I forgot this in the first chapter. Disclaimer: I own two things: Jack and Squat, and Jack left town.

Chosen of Olympus 

Chapter Two: A Deadlast Moving Forward

OOOOOOOOOO Last time OOOOOOOOO

His only warning was the growing heat the chains and blades were emanating before he collapsed, writhing in agony, as a horrible burning spread across his arms and back.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**"Oh, right, the wracking spasms of pain. I forgot to mention that. Sorry."** Hermes didn't look sorry at all.

"Aaauugh… guh… gah… wha… what was that?…" Naruto slowly rose to his knees, still nearly nauseous from the pain. He grunted in exertion as he managed to reach a sitting position on the floor. "It hurt almost as much as when I first got these… things?" His question trailed off as he finally noticed what was missing. The chains were missing from his arms, only the spiraling burn scars left. A glance over his shoulder revealed that the blades themselves were gone as well, but there appeared to be a red tattoo shaped like the crossed blades across his back. "Where did they go?"

**"The Blades of Chaos have been drawn within your body. It's something new Hephaestus came up with a little while back. He has yet to work out the fine details, though… like the unbearable amount of pain caused the first time you use the feature."**

"Oh, really?" Naruto shakily rose to his feet, his voice raspy and panting heavily. "I hardly noticed."

**"Tough little man, aren't you? Well, you'll be happy to know that the pain lessens every time you summon or dismiss the blades. Eventually, it just becomes a dull ache that goes away in a few seconds… or so Hephaestus assures me."**

"Um… that's reassuring… sort of. Do I bring them out the same way I put them in?"

**"That's right. Oh, and I almost forgot… special delivery!"** And with the final word, Hermes rammed the scroll in his hand forward, slamming into Naruto's gut with incredible force… but rather then double the boy over in pain, the scroll simply vanished.

"…Okay, do I even need to ask?! What did you do now?!"

"I put the scroll into the seal. Now, it can never be stolen or lost, and the demon can read it and instruct you. As you reach new plateaus of skill, more will be revealed on the scroll."

"Really? So how do… uh-oh. I'm late! Class starts in ten minutes, and the Academy is halfway across town!" Naruto tore around his apartment, searching the mess for his shuriken pouch, his textbooks, and his left sandal. Hermes watched in amusement as the boy finally finished getting ready, and reached for his customary orange jacket. "What the… aw, no, I forgot!" He fingered the burned, frayed edge of the sleeve, which was now just beneath the elbow. "It got burned last night, and this was my favorite jacket!"

**"Personally, I think it's an improvement. I think you should burn the rest of it too. But I'll tell you what, since it's partly my fault you're running behind, I'll give you a lift to this school of yours."**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_EEEEEYAAAAAAAHA-HA-HAAA_!!!" Naruto couldn't decide whether to be terrified or thrilled by the trip to school, so he settled for what he would later call "thrillified." He had, as Hermes instructed, grabbed the messenger god's wrist, and Hermes had held onto Naruto's, which made for a more secure grip then simply grasping hands. And then suddenly, without warning, they were moving. Out the window, and straight up. And up. And _up_. They stopped and hovered a few hundred feet off the ground, which put them about twice the height of the Hokage Monument. After Naruto finished gawking at his god's eye view of the village, he had pointed out which building was the Academy, and they were off.

They were moving at speeds even ANBU couldn't match, as swift as a falcon and nimble as a dragonfly. Their ballistic dive pulled up just shy of the pavement, and they zipped down the streets and through back alleys without slowing. They were passing within feet of civilians, who noticed nothing more then the wind of their passage. ANBU on patrol simply dismissed the fleeting glimpses they caught of the boy and the swiftest of the gods as tricks of the light. And after the most exhilarating thirty seconds of Naruto's young life, they came to a dead stop. Bam. Snap. Period. No skid, no slide, no such thing as momentum, nothing.

They were in an alley a block from the academy, and Naruto was leaning against the wall to steady his shaking legs. Hermes smiled at him. **"Enjoyed yourself?"**

"I don't know whether I should scream or throw up. Let's go again!"

"**Don't you need to get to class?"**

"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot, we get assigned to our teams today! Thanks for the ride, Hermes! It's nice to see not everyone up there is as uptight as Kratos!"

"**And I'll be sure to tell him you said that. It was my pleasure, kid. I think I'll be seeing you around."** And with that not-at-all obvious bit of foreshadowing, Hermes darted away, vanishing from sight almost instantly. Naruto ran from the alley, hoping he could get to class before Iruka did.

Neither of them noticed the petite girl with dark blue hair near the entrance to the alley, as she tried to understand what her pale eyes had just seen. "N-Naruto-kun?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto raced into the classroom, and was happy to see that Iruka wasn't there yet. For once, the blonde was on time! However, his elation lasted only a second before he realized that all conversation had died upon his entry into the room. The blonde jinchuriki wasn't sure why everyone was staring at him, so he just stared back. There was a silent standoff for almost half a minute before Nara Shikamaru, the laziest kid Naruto had ever met, spoke up.

"Hey, Naruto, why are you here? Only graduates were supposed to come in today. And what happened to your arms?"

The blonde smirked at him, before reaching up and tapping the metal plate tied to his forehead. "I didn't get this in a cereal box! I took some extra credit and passed! And what about my arms?" It wasn't until those words had passed his lips that Naruto realized that, without his jacket, he was only wearing a black T-shirt, and the scars along his forearms were clearly visible. "…Oh. Those." Naruto had already decided he wanted to keep his new weapons a secret, until he learned to use them properly.

'_A little help, fox?'_

'_**You're own your own for this one, brat.'**_

"Well, uh… those are… it's kind of a… I… Look, a three headed monkey!" Obviously enough, the distraction ploy didn't work, but Kratos' champion was saved from needing to explain by the sudden arrival of two more classmates. Ino and Sakura, once again racing to see who would get to sit next to Sasuke, blew through the door neck-and-neck. They didn't care what collateral damage they caused in their rush, which led to a fair amount of commotion as they raced through the room. This was a mixed blessing for Naruto, as it distracted the class away from him… but also left him picking himself off the floor with a number of shoeprints on his back.

'_**Saved by the stampede? That's a new one to me."**_

"A-ano… Naruto-kun? A-are you alright?"

Naruto looked up. Standing in the doorway with her ever-present blush gracing her cheeks was the only person Naruto knew who was quieter than Shino: Hyuuga Hinata. "Oh, um… yeah, I'm fine! Just checking that the janitor cleaned the floor properly." He pointed to a corner of the room. "He missed a spot over there."

Hinata's blush deepened a bit as she tried to stifle a giggle at her crush's antics. "Ano… N-Naruto-kun?" Naruto climbed to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Yeah?"

"Um… wh-who was that w-with you earlier?" Naruto froze mid-brush, his smile plastered to his face. "In the a-alley… I thought it l-looked like he was… flying… a-and his chakra was g-gold…"

Naruto glanced around, but no one else had heard what Hinata had asked. "Oh… you saw him? Well… that was Hermes. He's… a friend, I guess." It was at that moment that Iruka arrived, and called for everyone to take their seats. "I can explain at lunch, but please don't mention it to anyone?" The girl blushed again, and managed a small nod before moving to her customary seat at the back of the room, but inside she was ecstatic. _'I talked to Naruto-kun! He's going to share a secret with me! Oh, I hope I'm on his team…'_

Iruka ran through a much-abbreviated roll call, as only the graduating members of the class were present. As he reached Naruto, he paused, eyes wide, as he saw that those weapons he'd been so sure weren't removable were gone as if they had never been. The only sign that they had existed at all were the scars on his arms. Iruka mentally vowed to ask about it later, and resumed the attendance report. After that was done, he began his prepared speech that he gave to every graduating class, the one about duty, honor, and the fact that upon becoming genin, they were adults in the eyes of the village, and that they should act as such. While his mouth recited the words on autopilot, his mind wandered. This was the most bittersweet part of teaching at the academy: sending his students off into the world. Knowing that he was at least in part responsible for molding these children into the proud shinobi they would one day be was wonderful… but that thought was also a reminder that these were indeed children, and they would soon be warriors thrust into a dangerous world. Iruka could only hope his teachings were enough to help them keep alive.

"And now for what you've all been waiting so patiently for… the team selections." Everyone sat up a little straighter at this, even the perpetually slumped Shikamaru. As the teams were read off, varying degrees of cheering and cursing were audible from different seats, as the students expressed their (dis)satisfaction with their teammates. "Team Seven… Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto perked up. _'Lucky number seven! I hope Sakura-chan is on my team! Anybody but Sasuke…'_

"… Haruno Sakura…" There was an exultant shout from one side of the room, and a "Why me?!" from the other. Iruka pointedly ignored both.

"… And Uchiha Sasuke." A fair approximation of all hell broke loose in the classroom as Sakura squealed with delight and Naruto (along with Sasuke's fangirls) roared with outrage. Iruka ignored these as well. He continued reading off the list until the last teams were done. "You now have an hour for lunch before your new jounin senseis will arrive. I suggest you spend it getting to know your team better. Good luck, all of you." Iruka left. He'd take Naruto out for ramen later and find out what was going on then.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto and Hinata sat on the academy roof in silence. She was blushing and nervously tapping her fingers together, as she always was, as she patiently waited for the boy she so admired to collect his thoughts. He was currently begging his inner demon for advice on how to handle this situation, but was getting little help. _'What do I say? What can I tell her?'_

'_That's your problem. It's not like it's a big deal, just don't tell her about me and you'll be fine.'_

'_But what if she thinks I'm crazy? Or tells the rest of her clan about me?'_

'_She saw Hermes herself, so if you're crazy, so is she. For the other problem, it all comes down to trust. Now say something before she thinks you've fallen asleep.'_

"So… Hinata… um… have you ever heard of the Olympians?…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They were sitting in silence again, this time while Hinata collected her thoughts. It was a lot to take in. "S-so you work for K-Kratos now?"

"Yeah…"

"And h-he is one of m-many other gods?"

"Right."

"This is… i-incredible."

"So… you believe me then?"

Hinata blushed even deeper. "O-of course I do, N-Naruto-kun."

Naruto, for once, had a genuine smile on his face.

"… N-Naruto-kun… m-may I see these w-weapons he gave y-you?"

"You want to see them? Okay… like I said, this is supposed to hurt less each time I do it, but I've only done this once so far, so don't panic if I look like I'm in pain." Naruto stood up and took a position a few feet in front of Hinata. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and raised his thumbs to his mouth. Once he had a decent blood flow going, he quickly drew his blood across his arms before the wounds healed.

Hinata gasped as Naruto dropped to one knee before her, and smoke rose from his arms and back. He was growling, biting his lip in an effort to keep from screaming. There was a sizzling noise, like cooking meat, and chains seemed to grow out from the scars on his arms. With a rather horrible wet ripping sound, first one, then another bronze hilts shot up from Naruto's shoulder blades. Naruto reached up and grabbed them, pulling the blades out of his body. After a few seconds, the pain had faded enough for the Chosen of Kratos to stand. "It did hurt a little less that time. And it didn't even rip my shirt! Hephaestus really is a genius…"

Hinata didn't know what she found more amazing: the appearance of the weapons from Naruto's body, the story of how he got them, or the fact that despite that his skin was audibly frying, Naruto hadn't cried out from the pain. No one should be that used to pain… "N-Naruto-kun…"

"So, pretty neat, huh? I still need to learn to use them, but once I do, I'll be unbeatable! I'll be made Hokage for sure!"

She smiled for him, her worries, fears, and stutter momentarily forgotten. "I'm sure you will, Naruto-kun. You'll be even better then the Fourth was."

"Yeah! My face will be right up there on the mountain next to his, and everyone will know he chose the right one to hold…" Naruto trailed off as he looked up at the Hokage Monument, pure determination etched on his features.

"The Kyuubi?" Hinata supplied.

"Yeah. I'll show 'em. I'll show them all I'm no…" Naruto stopped and whipped around, eyes wide with fear. "How do you know about him?!"

Hinata was wide-eyed as well as she realized what she had just said aloud. "I-I… I… I can see it. In you."

"You can what?! How can you see him, he's sealed, he's hidden, you, you… you have that special eye thing. You can see his chakra?"

She nodded, very hesitantly. "The Byakugan. T-the seal i-is part of your chakra system, and there is a t-tiny point of red chakra in the c-center. I s-saw it long a-ago, and worked out w-what it meant. It w-was the only way to e-explain why so many people are m-mean to you… N-Naruto-kun? You… y-you aren't m-mad… a-are you?"

Naruto gazed at her in wonder. "You know about the Ninetails… but it doesn't bother you?"

"You are N-Naruto-kun. Y-you were before I f-found out, and you w-were after. N-nothing changed."

He gave her a small smile. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me. It is weird, though… you knew about him for so much longer then I did, and I'm the vessel."

"R-Really? When d-did you find out?"

"Last night." He said it so casually, like it was no big deal, but Hinata was horrified.

"L-last night?! You w-were treated so p-poorly for t-twelve years and didn't know w-why until last night?! Oh, Naruto-kun…"

Naruto was astounded that someone he knew so little of could not only be so accepting, but that she would show such concern for him. He decided that the Ninetails was right, it was all a matter of trust, and Hinata was quickly proving herself to be someone worth trusting. "Hinata-chan… there's one more thing to all this… but not even the old man or Iruka-sensei know this part…"

She blushed again. He trusted her that much? And he called her Hinata-_chan_?

"If you know about the Ninetails… and about Kratos… then you deserve to know this…" He swallowed nervously, his mouth felt so _dry_… "Kratoscutadealwiththeninetailsandnowhe'sgonnatrainmetousethebladesandhownottobeanidiot."

The Hyuuga heiress blinked. "Ano… what?"

Naruto sighed, hope warring against fear, knowing that if anything would make Hinata hate him like everyone else, this was it. "Kratos cut a deal with the Ninetails and now he's gonna train me to use the blades and how not to be an idiot."

"You're… l-learning from the N-Ninetails?"

Naruto cringed. "Yes. Or at least I will be soon." Here it comes…

"What's he like?"

"…What?"

"W-what is the N-Ninetails like? Is he m-mean?" The blonde looked at her, astounded once again by her instant acceptance of what others would have him killed for. He smiled, and began recounting his few interactions with the fox so far. Before long, the hour was up, and they had to return to class. Naruto sealed the blades within himself again, and was happy to note that this time the pain wasn't even enough to drop him to his knees.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As the graduates came back to the classroom in their twos and threes, Iruka was startled to see Naruto return at Hinata's side. Had they spent lunch together? Did this mean Naruto had noticed her obvious affections for him? Was he getting over Sakura? Yet more to ask about when they went out for ramen later. A few minutes later the jounin began arriving, and before long, only Team Seven was left waiting. Iruka frowned deeply. "I should have expected this. Team Seven, you may as well settle in and get comfortable. Your instructor has a tendency to… let's be nice about it and call it 'lose track of time'. He'll be here eventually. However, there is some paperwork regarding the graduating class I need to finish, so I'm afraid I can't wait with you. Good luck, to all of you."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"WHERE _IS_ THIS GUY?!" Sakura screamed. When no one answered her question, she sat down in a huff and began to sulk. It had been almost two hours since Iruka-sensei had left, and still no sign of their Jounin instructor. After the first half-hour had passed, the three new teammates had idly speculated as to what might be holding him up. Even Sasuke had participated, suggesting two or three fairly-plausible possibilities. After an hour had passed, Sakura had taken a break from cooing over Sasuke to berate Naruto for something, possibly breathing in her direction, and to grill him about how he graduated and where those scars had come from. Naruto, with a little prompting from his inner demon, managed to deflect her questions and change the subject until she decided that further inquiry wasn't worth the effort. For the last hour, Sakura returned to trying to get Sasuke to talk to her, and Naruto put his head down and, as far as anyone else could tell, slept. He was actually asking the Ninetails about when, where, and how his training would commence, and what "super-cool moves" were described in the scroll.

A few minutes later, the classroom's sliding door began to open. All three students perked up as their new instructor stepped into the room. He certainly was an odd one, if his appearance was any judge. Spiky gray hair, a mask covering everything from his nose to his neck, and his Leaf Village Hitai-Aite tilted over his left eye like an eyepatch. His style of dress was normal enough- black fatigues and a jounin-pattern flak vest- but the little orange book he was so casually reading from had a big, obvious "Adults Only" warning on the back.

He stood there, reading his smutty little novel, while his students simply sat and stared, waiting for him to… do _something_. After a moment passed, the new arrival marked his page, tucked the book into his kunai pouch, and finally turned his attention to his new wanna-be shinobi. He spent a long moment sizing them up one by one, analyzing what he knew of them and what he was observing.

Uchiha Sasuke. The only survivor of the Uchiha Massacre of five years ago, except for the traitor who slaughtered the rest. Self-proclaimed Avenger, as emo as they come, and constantly pursued by a horde of members of his fan club. Graduated at the top of his class, with the best practical and second-best academic scores. Spent his life from the Massacre to the present being told he was a prodigy, the best shinobi around, and Kami's gift to girls. It would be fun breaking down that ego of his.

Haruno Sakura. First shinobi from her family in generations. As such, she had no training from relatives or family techniques. Overcame those handicaps through diligent study, giving her the highest academic record in the school. Practical scores were a bit under par. Judging by her appearance, she was highly concerned with looking pretty. While that wasn't really a bad thing, she should really be focusing on gaining power and skill first. An active member of the Uchiha Sasuke Fanclub… and on the same team as Sasuke. Great, she would probably be more interested in asking Sasuke out then training, which would interrupt the Avenger's training as well.

Uzumaki Naruto. Oh, geez… Worst grades in class, even worse then the people who failed the graduation exam, which was why he was put on a team with two of the best. Vessel of the Nine Tailed Fox, as well, and nearly universally hated for it. Looks so much like Arashi-sensei it's painful. Total clown, and always seeking attention. Understandable, considering his status, but not a great attitude for a spy or assassin. Apparently there had been some major changes to his situation over the past twenty-four hours, but Hokage-sama was being quite close-lipped about them. Those rather horrific scars on his forearms might have something to do with it… There was no explanation for chain-pattern burn scars that could possibly be good.

"My first impression of you guys… you're all idiots." Three sets of eyes widened, then narrowed in anger. "Meet me on the roof." With a swirl of leaves, the jounin vanished. Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other, and leapt for the window, scrambling to get to the roof first. Sakura simply sighed at the male species in general as she calmly headed for the stairs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Alright, I think it's time for some introductions. Tell me about yourselves. Pinky, go."

Sakura looked at him blankly. "Um, sensei, what do you want to know?"

He made a dismissive gesture. "Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, hopes, dreams, fears, shoe size, anything you feel like telling us."

"Shouldn't you go first, since we all know each other?"

"Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like many things. I also dislike many things. My hobbies… (giggle)… I have hopes and dreams. And I fear circus clowns."

"Really?"

"No. Pinky, your turn."

She stared at him for a moment. 'All we learned was his name?'

"Today would be nice," Kakashi prompted.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…" she trailed off and looked at Sasuke with a blush. "I dislike…" she trailed off again and glared at Naruto, who looked hurt for a second before brightening up again. "I guess my hobby would be studying. I hope and dream to one day…" she looked at Sasuke again, this time with a dreamy smile. The Uchiha was beginning to look a bit uncomfortable.

Kakashi rolled his visible eye, it was as bad as he feared. "Okay, Laughing Boy, go."

Sasuke glared as fiercely as he could at the poor excuse for a jounin. It was the fiercest glare ever seen in Konoha, or any of the Hidden Villages for that matter. In years to come, ballads would be sung of the fierceness of that glare… but in the short term, it simply made the Uchiha prodigy look like a petulant child. "Uchiha Sasuke. I like very few things, and dislike a lot of things. I have no hobbies, unless you count training. My dream… no, my goal, is to… kill a certain man. And I fear _nothing_."

"A real tough guy. Okay, sunshine, your turn."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, and Sakura-chan, and my friends Iruka-sensei and Hinata-chan,! I dislike the three minutes it takes ramen to cook, and uptight jerks like Sasuke! And my dream…" Naruto stood up, striking a heroic pose. "I _will_ be the Hokage, and get everyone to respect me!"

Kakashi gave a barely perceptible nod. The blonde runt was excitable, but surprisingly he had the most normal introduction of the three. The other two had borderline obsessions or cryptic ulterior motives, but Naruto seemed to be a pretty straightforward guy. Didn't change his lack of skill or intelligence, though.

"Alright, you three have passed the academy final. Now it's time for the real work to begin. Do you all know where training field seven is?" He received three nods in response. "Meet me there tomorrow morning at six. You will be having a little survival training."

Sakura tried to protest that they had already gone through that, but was shut down. "This is different from the academy training. This time you'll need to deal with me if you want to make genin. See, the test you just took the other day only weeds out those with no chance of surviving as ninja from those who might. Anyone who fails tomorrow's test gets sent back to the academy to retake the last year." Kakashi paused to savor the looks of horror he was getting from… well, two of the runts, at least. "And by the way, this test has a failure rate of sixty-six percent." Sakura and Naruto were straight-out gawking as Kakashi turned on his heel, pulled out his little orange book, and walked away. "Oh, right… don't bother eating breakfast unless you enjoy throwing up."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Half an hour later, Naruto sat at the base of a tree in training field seven. The Ninetails had told him to find a secluded spot to begin his training with the Blades of Chaos, and pointed out that it would be worthwhile to get a look at the site of the next day's test. It seemed straightforward enough, it was mostly forest, with a few big clearings. The biggest open space was bordered on one side by the road, another by the bank of a small river, and on the other two sides by trees. There were three wooden training stumps off to one side, and just beyond the training area's edge was some old statue Naruto had never really paid attention to.

"_So what do you think the test will be?"_ Naruto thought, directing his words to the fox.

"_Could be any number of things, it's impossible to tell. This teacher struck me as the sort who enjoys getting a rise out of others, so it will likely test your patience, among other things. And about his advice about breakfast… I wouldn't completely disregard him, but you should definitely have something light. Cereal, or some fruit maybe… you do have something other than ramen, right?"_

"_Well, I… uh… are you sure I should eat? Kakashi-sensei said we'd throw up, and I don't want to disobey his first order…"_

"_If you eat a big breakfast, you might, but if you eat nothing, you will be slowed and weakened by hunger. Now that I think about it, that's probably his point… Don't worry about it now, just get some apples or something on the way home later. For now stand up and find an open space. I've been reading through the basic movements listed in this scroll, and I feel confident that I can teach it to you. Don't get your hopes up about using them in your test tomorrow, there's too much to learn to really become proficient enough in one night."_

Naruto walked out into the field, so that the nearest trees were almost ten meters away, and summoned the blades again. The pain faded very quickly this time, and was much less intense then before.

"_Now, the blades can be used two ways. They are excellent weapons in close-range hand-to-hand combat, and you should make use of them as such. Their true strength, however, is the great reach they grant the wielder when you use the chains. This is what we'll be working on. Draw one blade… now thrust it forward, like you're impaling the target. Good, now when I tell you, do it again, but release your grip as you do. Go." _

Naruto threw the blade forward, and flame engulfed it as it reached the end of the chain and dropped to the ground. _"How does it keep lighting on fire like that? Is it magic or something?"_

"_Sort of. Jerk your arm back, like you're elbowing someone behind you… good. That returns the hilt to your hand and spools the chain back up your arm. You see, the blades use their wielder's chakra to keep the fire going, siphoning it down the length of the chain. It only requires a very small amount, though; even the weakest of humans could allow the fire to burn for hours without significant drain. Now thrust again, but let go sooner this time. Grab the chain just before it reaches full extension, and pull back… you're doing fine. Doing it this way makes the attack a two-stage motion, the release and the return. We're now going to combine those into one smooth motion. In this next try, I want you to lean into the cast, and as the chain reaches out move your arm in a small arc, like you're waxing a table. No, no, still too jerky. It needs to be one smooth transition from pushing the blade out to pulling it in… excellent. I must admit, you seem to be getting the hang of this more quickly than I expected."_

"_Really? Do you think I can try one of the advanced techniques tonight?"_

"_Not even close. Now, try the same motion using your left arm… good. Now keep doing it, alternating between arms. Establish a steady flow of thrusts, right, left, right, left… now reduce by half the length of the chain released. Feel the difference? Much less range, but much greater speed. You'll be experimenting with this later." _They practiced for another hour before moving on to swinging the blade in a wider arc, to make use of the edge rather than the point. The swinging motion required less finesse to do properly, and it only took half-an hour to get basic control of. The magic of the blades ensured that the leading edge stayed in front, rather then letting the weapons twist on their chains mid-swing.

The next set of movements involved swinging the blades vertically, either in an uppercut motion that would knock the target off his feet, or swinging downwards to smash him into the ground. As the Ninetails explained, these sort of strikes were most often used to finish a combo, or to set up for a more advanced technique. Hours were spent practicing all three attacks using one blade, the other, or both, and eventually how to move from one attack to the next smoothly. The sun was setting by the time the Ninetails called for a stop. _"You're doing very well. I'm surprised you picked up the basics so quickly, it's like you've been doing this for years."_

"_Do you think I should show them to Kakashi-sensei tomorrow?"_

"_I think that depends on what kind of test he pits you against. Now, before we finish up for the night, I have a test for you myself. On your way home, I want you to review for me what we discussed earlier, about the Five Rules I explained to you."_

"_Rule one: 'Fighting honorably' is for fools and samurai. A ninja's honor comes from success. Rule two: Strength is useless if it's slow. Speed is useless if it's clumsy. Grace is useless if it's weak. Rule three: Even your opponent's weapon can be your weapon. Rule four: The environment is a tool that can be used by you or against you. And Rule five: The greatest art is the art of deception. Did I get them all right?"_

"_Good, very good, you successfully memorized them all. Now, put them in your own words. I want to be sure you understand why these rules are so important."_

Naruto had left the training fields behind by this point, and was heading for Ichiraku's for his nightly ramen binge. He squinted as he thought, trying to organize his jumbled mind. _"Well, uh… rule one means don't worry about fighting fair, because winning is what counts."_

"_Good. Next?…"_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

At six the next morning, three shinobi hopefuls were waiting in training field seven.

At seven, three shinobi hopefuls were sulking (well, two were sulking, one was brooding) in training field seven.

At eight, three shinobi hopefuls were _downright pissed_ in training field seven.

And at nine, Kakashi finally strolled up, reading his book like he hadn't a care in the world.

"_YOU'RE LATE!_" Naruto and Sakura both screamed at him.

"Terribly sorry," The jounin said without looking up from his book of smut, "I got lost on the road of life."

There was a moment of silence at this announcement. Naruto finally spoke up. "Lost on the… what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Kakashi ignored him, instead choosing to tuck his book away and produce two tiny bells and an alarm clock. He tied the bells to his belt.

"Now then, the test. I'm setting this alarm clock for noon. You have until then to take one of these bells from me by any means at your disposal. Tools, traps, weapons, jutsus, there are no restrictions. In fact, none of you will stand a chance if you don't come at me with intent to kill."

Sakura looked up at him wide eyed. "But sensei, won't you be hurt?"

It was hard to judge their teacher's mood with so much of his face covered, but it looked like the thought amused him. "No, no, you three couldn't cause me serious harm if I was asleep, drugged, and suffering from chakra exhaustion. Academy fresh rookies don't stand a chance against a jounin on their own. That's why all you need to do is take a bell. Simple enough, in theory."

"But… there are only two bells… and three of us."

"Mmm, and that would be a problem, wouldn't it? This means that at least one of you will go back to the academy, if not all of you. Oh, and also, only the ones who get a bell can have one of the lunches I brought along. Anyone without a bell gets tied to a post while I eat your lunch in front of you." The jounin set the bento boxes and the clock on the foot of the monument. Sasuke's and Sakura's stomachs chose that moment to rumble fiercely, as if in protest to Kakashi's harsh decree. Naruto, on the other hand, was mentally thanking his inner demon for his foresight.

"You're burning time, so I think you'd better save the questions. Test begins… now."

The genin scattered and vanished into hiding, prepared to observe the target until a plan of action could be readied…. Well, at least two of them did.

"You know, Naruto, most ninja would conceal themselves at this point."

"Yeah, well, I'm not like most ninja, Kakashi-sensei! I'm taking those bells right now!" A groan echoed from the back of Naruto's mind.

"_You truly are a fool, aren't you? Were you even listening when they covered the shinobi ranking system in class? Jounin are considered the village elite for a reason, idiot."_

"_Hey! I can take him! I just gotta summon the Blades of Chaos, and I'm gonna kick his ass!"_

"_And exactly how long have you spent training to use the blades?"_

"_Umm… half a day?"_

"_That's right. Half a day. And he has been a jounin for how long?"_

"_How should I know?"_

"_That's right. You don't know anything about him. So what makes you think you can match him?"_

Kakashi cocked his head to one side as he watched Naruto. The boy's eyes were glazed, as if his mind was somewhere else, and his expression seemed to indicate that he was arguing with himself. "Uh… when you said 'right now', you did mean today, right?"

Naruto snapped out of it for a second. "Be patient! I'll come over and kick your ass when I'm good and ready!"

"_Well, fox, should I back down, if you're so sure I can't take him?"_

"_No, no… backing out now would be cowardice, and that's worse then foolishness. Besides, I think seeing firsthand exactly how outclassed you are may cool that impulsive streak of yours. Go for it, and try not to be humiliated too badly."_

"_Ha! He'll be the one humiliated when he gets beaten by a genin, and you'll be eating your words, furball!" _Naruto charged at his teacher, fully confident of his success. The jounin didn't bother looking up, instead flipping a page of his book.

"Lesson one: Taijutsu."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto drifted along beneath the surface of the river, having been launched there by Kakashi's so-called "Supreme Taijutsu Technique." He was clutching at his aching rear, trying to figure out how long it would be until he could sit without flinching.

"_Ow… that was… that was not right."_

"_Do you get my point now? He wasn't even pretending to try. He was reading a damn book while you flailed around like an idiot. Incidentally, that would have been one of the funniest things I had ever seen, if it wasn't so pathetic."_

"_Stupid furball… so what now?"_

"_Actually willing to listen to me this time, hmm? Well, your options now are to keep under he surface and swim away to make a plan, or launch another attack. He's expecting the latter, so we take advantage of his low opinion of your skills. Show him what he expects to see, to distract him from the true attack. But do it soon, before you need to surface for air and give away your position. And you may as well draw the Blades. You'll need every advantage you can get."_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi studied the water with interest. Naruto should have surfaced by now, screaming obscenities and vowing payback. The jounin _really _hoped he didn't need to explain to Sarutobi that Naruto had drowned, of all things… But it was then that the surface of the river roiled, and a small squad of blondes leapt from the water and charged. The one in the middle hung back a little, and shouted "You're going to pay for that, Kakashi-sensei! Nobody does that to the future Hokage and gets away with it!"

The Copy-Ninja didn't bother hiding his smirk (his mask took care of that for him), as he calmly watched the horde of Naruto fast approaching. _Exactly as I expected… well, except for the clones. Those are surprising. I wonder if this is the change Sandaime-sama mentioned? _He took a slightly more ready stance as they got close. _Still, he was dumb enough to announce which one is real, so it isn't all that major a-_

Kakashi's danger-sense, honed by years of conflict, screamed a warning just in time. The jounin threw himself bodily to one side as a pair of flaming… _somethings _flashed through the spot he had just been occupying. Was one of the other genin taking advantage of Naruto's distraction? Probably Sasuke, Sakura was unlikely to know any fire techniques.

As he landed, Kakashi got a better read on the situation, and found himself mildly impressed. He was now bracketed by a group of clones to one side, and what had to be the real Naruto on the other._ He left some clones in position, then swam down river to flank me. Not bad._ The lone blonde had in his hands a pair of rather wicked looking weapons, which had a chain connecting each to his arms. _Where did those come from? I've never seen anything like them, and he didn't have them when he arrived here. This is getting more interesting by the minute. _

"Ready for a beating, sensei? I'm gonna get you back for that stupid technique you used, and then I'm gonna burn that stupid book of yours!"

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. _No one_ threatens Icha Icha Paradise. He was so caught up in deciding how best to humiliate his subordinate that he almost didn't notice the clones behind him sneaking forward. Almost.

_That sneaky little… he found what buttons to push, then got me mad enough to lose focus. Almost was enough, too. I suppose I'll humor him. _The clones leapt into action, one latching on to each leg, another putting Kakashi in a full nelson. Kakashi knew he could escape their hold easily enough, but he waited to see what the brat did next. The original Naruto shouted "Take this!" and thrust his sword thing towards the cluster of clones and their 'prisoner', and Kakashi was surprised to see it hurtle forward like a razor-edged meteor. _Okay, I definitely need to look into those weapons._ Deciding he'd humored the boy long enough, he used the old standby escape: Kawamiri no Jutsu.

Naruto panicked as the Blade sank into Kakashi's belly, but was both relieved and confused when the man disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by one of the Shadow Clones. The clone disappeared, as did the one that had been gripping him in a submission hold, as the blade continued forward. "Hey, where'd he go?"

Naruto and his doppelgangers whipped around, searching in every direction for the teacher. They all began shouting at once.

"It was Kawamiri! He swapped with one of us!"

"Did anyone see where he went?"

"He must have run off!"

"Did anyone get a bell?"

"Sorry boss, I nearly had one, but he swapped out just before I got it!"

The real Naruto sighed before releasing the jutsu. "We'll just need to do better on the next try. It's gonna be hard to surprise him again, though."

"_Even if you didn't succeed, you did very well, brat. You certainly exceeded my expectations, as well as the one-eye's. Now do you see the benefit of a little planning, as opposed to charging straight in?"_

"_What planning? I was making that up as I went. I just thought, 'Hey, I could use clones to distract him, and go around behind!' Then I thought, 'Hey, if I have one clone pretend to be the real me, it'd be more convincing!' And then I thought 'Hey, I bet if I act as a second distraction, a clone could get a bell!'"_

"… _That is planning, you freaking dumbass. The fact that you came up with it on the spot doesn't make it any less of a plan. Now just go find him, and be ready to make a new plan when you see what he's up to."_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi stopped a short distance from where Naruto had almost spitted him. Curiouser and curiouser… The Kyuubi vessel had suddenly switched from a mindless assault to a well thought out plan that nearly worked. He'd also suddenly acquired a set of rather… _interesting_ weapons, the likes of which Kakashi had never seen before. He had been a bit tempted to use his special eye to record Naruto's attack for later consideration, but if it had gotten out that the famed Copy Ninja had used his Sharingan against an academy fresh rookie who had barely passed the graduation test, he would be a laughingstock. Gai would have never let him live it down…

Well, time enough to worry about that later. For now, he could sense Sasuke hiding less then ten meters away, and from the way his chakra was spiking, he was mad about something. Probably saw Naruto's little display, and was jealous of him having those obviously powerful weapons. May as well have a little fun with the Uchiha heir.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto's search brought him past the monument statue, where the alarm clock and lunch boxes were still resting. He paused. _Well, Iruka-sensei always was pounding that saying into our heads. 'A ninja must see underneath the underneath.' So if I can't get a bell…_

He was reaching for one of the lunches when his inner demon spoke up, rather forcefully. _"Freeze. While I can see why you think this is a good idea, think about it for a moment. In a mission, is your objective to do what the client is paying you to do, or is it to be paid?"_

"_Uh, to complete the mission, of course. But what does that have to do with…oh. Lunch isn't the objective, it's the payment for winning. Dammit, I thought I had figured out the trick to this test."_

"_Trick to the… yes. Yessss… I understand now. It is a trick. The whole test is a trick! Oh, that one-eyed lecher is a crafty one, all right. You'll learn a lot from him, once you pass."_

"_What the hell are you talking about, fox? What trick?"_

"_Think about it. How big are traditional shinobi teams?"_

"_Uh, I think Iruka-sensei said four. He said that was the perfect balance between speed and stealth, and combat strength."_

"_And genin are formed into teams of how many?"_

"_Three… but the jounin sensei makes four."_

"_And they balance the teams so that the grades of the team members average out. They put the worst with the best and the second worst with the second best, and so on. Am I correct?"_

"_Yeah. Where are you going with this?"_

"_Why would they go to such painstaking efforts to put together well-balanced teams, then immediately split them apart? Especially in a manner that all but guarantees that the bottom half of the graduating class will be on the outs?"_

An expression of wonder dawned on Naruto's face as he grasped what the fox was trying to tell him. _"They wouldn't! Kakashi lied about one of us getting sent back! It's all or nothing!… But then, how do we pass?"_

"_I think you need to figure that out. But here's a little hint. What is the point of the rules of this test?"_

Naruto sighed, and flopped down at the base of a tree to think. _"To tell us what to do… except that the rules lie. So… the real mission is the opposite of what the rules say. So we need to not get a bell? But that would prove nothing, so that can't be it. What the rules make us do is go after Kakashi fast, because we need to get a bell before they're both gone. But none of us stand a chance on our own, Kakashi-sensei was just toying with me and no way Sasuke-teme will do any better!"_

Naruto shot up straight. His eyes widened as everything fell into place. _"The rules pit us all against each other! We're supposed to work together!"_

The vessel could hear the laughter of his tenant echoing around the inside of his head. _"Good! Much faster than I expected. That lump of gray pudding you keep in your skull is more useful than you let on! Now hurry. You have little time, and much to do if you're going to pull this off."_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto walked into a clearing, Sakura unconscious in his arms. He had reassumed his search, now looking for his teammates, when he heard the girl scream in fear. He bolted for her location, but when he arrived, all he found was Sakura laying on the ground, uninjured. As near as he could tell, she had fainted. And now, as he carried her limp body in search of Sasuke, Naruto stumbled upon what had to be the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the famed Uchiha Clan and Rookie of the Year, had been buried far enough underground that only his head was visible. Naruto barely managed to keep from dropping Sakura, as he shook with laughter. As it happened, the shaking of his body was enough to wake the girl in his arms, and when she saw who was carrying her, she punched him in the face, and he did drop her.

"Naruto! What the hell did you think you were- _Sasuke-kun!_ No!"

The prodigy glared at his teammates, the idiot was rolling on the ground laughing, and the fangirl was sobbing for some reason or another. "Sakura. Shut up. You're too loud."

Sakura shrieked with joy as she realized her beloved Sasuke wasn't decapitated, and began desperately clawing at the ground trying to get him out. Naruto finally regained a little control, and sat up to watch. After a moment, he spoke up. "Hey, Sakura-chan. Sasuke-teme." They gave no sign of having heard him. "Hey! Guys! It's important!" They still had no interest in what he had to say. "Kakashi lied to us!" That got their attention.

"What are you babbling about, dead-last?"

"Yeah, Naruto! Just because you couldn't beat sensei doesn't make him a liar!"

As Naruto struggled to explain what he had worked out with the fox's guidance, Sasuke finally managed to get an arm free, and was able to pry himself out of the ground. He ignored Sakura's tittering, fought back the surge of jealous anger when he again saw those bizarre, but obviously strong weapons Naruto had hanging from his back, and interrupted the blonde's chain of logic. "I don't need teammates. I don't need your _help_. All I need is to grow stronger, and you two are holding me back."

Naruto sneered at his arrogant teammate. "Oh, right, me and Sakura are the reason you were enjoying a gopher's-eye view of the world. Kakashi kicked your butt just as much as he did mine!"

Sasuke turned away with a snort, dismissing the blonde's statement (because he didn't want to admit he was right). Sakura's response was less restrained.

"Where do you get off talking to Sasuke-kun like that! He's a better ninja now then you could ever be!"

Naruto sighed. Times like this he had trouble remembering what it was he liked about Sakura. "Look. If I'm right, we all win. If I'm wrong, we still have the bells. And if only two of us can pass… well, I guess I could get the most out of another year in the academy. I'll take the fall."

The other two stopped and stared at him.

"Here." Naruto pulled a pair of apples out of his bag. "I had a few before I came to the meeting. They may not be ramen, but they aren't bad. We need to be at our best if any of us want a bell."

After a second's hesitation, Sasuke wordlessly took an apple, and Sakura mimicked his action. After the fruit had been reduced to mere cores, Sasuke shot Naruto a look. "What's your plan, dobe?"

The Champion sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Uh… I don't have one yet. I was more worried about getting you guys to help first."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi meandered back toward the clearing the test had begun in, nose buried in his book. He hadn't heard a peep from any of his students for a while now, and there were only about ten minutes left. Such a shame, really… if Kakashi ever did take on a team, this one seemed to show enough potential to make it interesting. Still, if they couldn't figure out the bell test, then they weren't worth his time.

He ducked under a low branch, stepped over a fallen log, and neatly sidestepped out of the path of one of Naruto's fiery chain weapons as it thundered by. In the next second, the blade's owner leapt from the undergrowth and began chaining together strikes that could have removed a man's limbs if they had connected.

_If_ they had connected. Kakashi had his attention on Naruto, wanting to get a better idea of what he could do with these oh-so interesting toys. He kept leaping backwards, giving ground as Naruto swung in wide arcs and long thrusts. Kakashi could feel the heat from the flames running along the blades, and he noted that the blaze seemed to be chakra-fueled. One swing sheared a branch from a tree, slicing through like a hot- or rather, a flaming- knife through butter. There were a number of other oddities about the ways the blades moved, allowing them to be used in ways that ordinary chain weapons couldn't. Something to check out later…

Naruto was using the Blades of Chaos as swiftly and skillfully as he could, which meant that so far he was successful in keeping Kakashi on the move. The Ninetails was talking to him as he fought, speaking in low tones so as not to distract the boy. _"Remember what I told you. Certain patterns of attacks can be used in place of hand-seals to use a jutsu from the blades. Left thrust… right thrust… Now bring them both behind you and over your head and push some chakra down the chains!"_

As Naruto brought the Blades crashing down at Kakashi, Naruto cried out the name of his new jutsu: "Plume of Prometheus!" Where the double-strike landed, a small fraction of Hell seemed to force its way to the surface. A geyser of molten rock, three feet wide and twice as tall, erupted from the ground beneath Kakashi's feet, and only a swift Kawamiri saved him from third-degree burns. As the lava flow stopped and instantly cooled, Kakashi reappeared a short distance away. No sooner then had he landed that he was forced to spring clear again, a massive volley of shuriken and kunai peppering the ground beneath him. A second volley was launched, forcing another Kawamiri. Kakashi reappeared on a branch this time, hoping to get a better view of the situation, but he caught a glimpse of a blue blur darting toward him, and suddenly the bells were gone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They had all gathered in the original clearing, where Kakashi turned off the alarm clock. "So you all worked together to get the bells. Naruto kept me busy, Sakura threw me off balance with a pair of traps, ad Sasuke, being the fastest of the three of you, snagged the bells. A simple plan, but a good one."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered. "We got the bells by working together! And that was the point all along, right sensei? So I bet all three of us pass now!"

Kakashi allowed a small grin. _So, the one who's supposed to be a dummy figured it out first. Better make sure the others get it too. _"And where exactly did you get that idea?" Naruto's expression changed from excited to fearful.

"But… But…"

"Now…" The teacher turned and gave them a hard look. "Sasuke has both bells, so he gets to decide who passes." _C'mon, Uchiha, live up to your reputation as a genius, not your reputation of being a cold-hearted jerk…_

Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was sighing dejectedly, then at Sakura, who had a pleading look in her eyes. Hs resolve hardened. "Neither. Teammates are a waste of time and would only hold me back."

Sakura dropped to her knees, fighting back the urge to cry, while Naruto roared with outrage. "You lousy back-stabbing _jerk!_ You wouldn't have gotten any bells if it wasn't for us! Now you give Sakura-chan one of those bells like we agreed right now or so help me I'll…"

Kakashi hid his disappointment in Sasuke, but was a bit confused by Naruto's outburst. _Why is he so intent on behalf of Sakura, but not himself? Did he volunteer to take the fall? Well, if I really was able to pass one or two of them, Naruto would definitely be one of them. Let's see if we can't get two out of three._

"Alright, if Sasuke refuses to choose… Sakura. You choose. Which two of you pass?"

The girl with the bubblegum hair looked up suddenly, unshed tears moistening her wide eyes. "M-me?" She looked at Sasuke, who was spitting her with a death glare. She looked away, toward Naruto, who was alternatively looking at her and at Kakashi-sensei, an unreadable expression on his face. _Sasuke will hate me forever if I don't choose him… but Naruto deserves it more! We never would have made it without his help… I can't believe I just thought that about Naruto. Ohh… I need to choose Sasuke, but if I don't also choose myself, I lose the chance to be on his team forever! Sorry, Naruto…_

"I pick Sasuke… and…" She looked downcast as she said "…myself."

Kakashi sighed. _Close, Sakura. If you'd picked Naruto and Sasuke, or even Naruto and yourself, you would have passed. Still… she knew what was right, it was only her infatuation that stopped her. If she spends long enough around Sasuke, she might get over it and become worthwhile. Sasuke… If he goes back to the academy, he'll become even more bitter and not learn a thing from this. And when he graduates next year, whoever is assigned to him will overlook his faults like so many others do. _He glanced at Naruto, who had sat down on the ground looking both sad and resigned to his fate. _Besides, Naruto passed fairly and with flying colors. He may be a good influence in that respect. And I do want to learn more about those chain blades… Fine. _

"Alright then, I've decided. I've tried a lot of genin with this test over the years, and I've never passed a team. But I've also never had a team like this."

The genin looked at him curiously. "Sasuke, I have never seen a genin fail this test worse than you did. You should be cut from the ninja program all together, in my opinion. " The Uchiha's eyes lit up in rage. "The entire point of this test was to gauge your teamwork and ability to put the needs of the group above your own. You betrayed your team's trust for selfish and idiotic reasons. Sakura, You did better, but not by much. You were selfish in choosing yourself and Sasuke. Even if you'd picked yourself and Naruto, that would have been better, as he had deserved it more." She at least had the good graces to offer Naruto an apologetic look. "Naruto… you saw through to the true purpose behind this test, and was willing to put their needs and desires above yours. If anyone here would pass, it would be you. But like you figured out, it's all three or none at all. So… you all pass."

There was a moment of silence. "…Huh?"

"You all have potential. I'm going to bring it out. And besides," He said with a shrug. "You did get both bells, which is more then any other team assigned to me has ever accomplished, and Naruto passed the real test. Three passes total."

Before they could properly digest this news, Kakashi turned and began to walk away. "Meet at eight tomorrow morning at the bridge down the road from here. Dismissed."

He hadn't gone more then three paces when a pair of joyous shouts broke the stillness behind him. Kakashi smiled. Maybe teaching these brats wouldn't be so bad… and hey, if the Sasuke learned from today, that meant soon he'd have a protégé strong enough to make Gai shut up about his.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Woo! Two and a half weeks and 18 pages later, chapter two is born! There was less action then I'd hoped for, and I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the bell test, but things should begin heating up soon. What I really can't wait for is the end of the Chuunin Exam Arc, obviously, but it's a long road to get there. Anyway, you can expect the beginning of the mission to Wave Country next chapter. Blood will be spilled copiously by the end of that arc, you can be sure. What with all the expendable nameless mercenaries with a cheapskate employer, and all.

Also next chapter you may see the introduction of Ino as something other than a fangirl used for comic relief.

One more thing: I want to just state now that I don't intend to demonize or bash Sakura or Sasuke… at least not much. Sakura simply is that bitchy in the beginning of the series, remember, and Sasuke… well, is Sasuke. And don't get Kakashi wrong; he'll definitely be playing favorites like he did in canon. He annoys me too much to be entirely innocent in Sasuke's betrayal.

Jutsu Library

Kawamiri no Jutsu: The substitution technique, known by practically all ninja. The user appears to be hit by an attack, then disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a replacement. This often takes the form of a log, or a rock. Though a genin-level jutsu, it is still commonly used by jounin.

Greek Archive

Plume of Prometheus: Prometheus was the Titan who stole fire from the gods, and gave it to humankind. This technique also offers the target the gift of fire, but in a much less friendly manner. Upon finishing the move, a gout of magma shoots out of the ground, blasting the target off their feet and burning them badly. It's a first-level Blades of Chaos move found in both GOW games, and is activated by using square, square, triangle.

Until next time!


	3. In the Line of Duty

Why does this website hate me so? It always screws with my formatting. The Kyuubi's speech is supposed to be both in **bold** and _italics_, but it drops the bold in several spots, so it's hard to tell it apart from Naruto's thoughts. Oh, well.

I've received a lot of reviews about last chapter that bear answering, so here we go.

Several people commented that the romance between Naruto and Hinata was going too fast. Well… you're both right and you're wrong. Yes, I threw that scene in with little prelude, and maybe it was a little over the top, but Naruto has only gone from thinking of her as an acquaintance to thinking of her as a friend he can trust. A big jump, but she still has yet to win his heart. In nearly every conversation between Naruto and Hinata in canon, she is the one that instigates it, so she is clearly able to speak to him without instantly fainting. Seeing Hermes would simply give her something worth asking about, so she has an excuse to gear up her courage and speak with him.

In regards to her knowing about Kyuubi: Maybe I should have explained this more clearly, but 'a red dot' isn't what clued her off to the Kyuubi. She realized that's what the red dot was after a lot of other things came together. Consider this: She sees the structure of the seal by the way it altered his inner coils from the norm. At the center is a tiny dot of red chakra. "Huh. That's funny. What's that all about? Oh, well, none of my business." She sees how poorly he is treated, and overhears the comments made behind his back, like when people call him a demon. She notices that his birthday is the same day the Kyuubi was "killed". That and dozens of other clues over the years all add up until she puts it all together. That's why I think she could have figured it out. A bit of a stretch, yes, but not too big, I think… yeah, I really should have explained that better. Maybe later I'll go back and change it.

Lu, you make a lot of very good points. First of all, I'm glad you enjoy my work, and yes, I know who Kraken's Ghost is. Hearing things like that is what makes writing worth it. Now, as I've already gone into my excuses for the Hinata scene, I'll keep it short.

P.S. Don't worry, they'll show up. As a matter of fact, Aphrodite getting involved in Naruto's affairs was something I planned on early, but recently I thought of something similar that would fit into the story better. The Goddess of Love and Lust will still be present, just not as prominently. And yes, there will be a fair amount of furor over Kratos taking on a champion.

P.P.S. It's kind of hard to put time-dilation camera work into word form, but I can try, gods damn it! I beat GOWII like the day before I saw 300, so the only thing I could think while leaving the theater was "The only thing that could have made that movie more awesome was if Kratos had shown up, either as a mortal or a god!"

Ninjagaiden119, I'd considered that, and I still am. How awesome would it be to summon minotaurs and gorgons instead of toads? And the boss summon would be the Colossus of Rhodes! But the only time Naruto really needs the summons is the Gaara fight, and I have something special planned for then… I dunno, I'll see if I can work it in somewhere.

Master of cheese graters, it is true that Kratos doesn't shout out the name of his attacks when he uses them. But Naruto does. So deal.

P.S. 1-3: That would be telling (wink-wink, nudge-nudge)

4: Telling people about Kratos is part of his job description, but he's still terrified of people learning about Kyuubi.

Aires Drake, what does "an Underworld of Pandora's box's remains" mean? Is that good? I honestly don't know what you are trying to say here.

St. Alicon, do you stutter in real life? Because I did when I was little. And what I've typed as Hinata's dialogue is mild compared to how I used to speak. And not to sound conceited or anything, but with a registered IQ of about 153, I think it's safe to say I'm not "retarded" because I stuttered.

Disclaimer: The leprechaun that lives under my bed told me to write this. Sometimes he tells me to burn things.

Chosen of Olympus 

Chapter Three: In the Line of Duty

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was a beautiful day as Hermes arrived back at Mount Olympus- meaning that Zeus was in a pleasant mood. The sky close to the home of the gods always reflected the current mood of the master of the house, storms when he was angry, sunshine when content.

The Divine Messenger alighted upon one of the balconies at the lowest point of the complex of temples, which served as arrival and departure points for the gods when they felt like visiting the mortal world. He strolled down the hall and up the stairs to Olympus proper, admiring the beautiful scrollwork worked into the walls and the tapestries depicting great battles and triumphs of mortals and gods alike. No matter how many times he passed this way, Hermes never got tired of the beauty of his home.

Even at his unhurried pace, it only took a few moments to reach the Lower Courtyard, the largest outdoor space on the mountain. It was filled with gardens, all lovingly tended by Demeter, and carefully crafted marble walkways meandered through the flowerbeds. There was an expanse of soft grass ringed by olive trees in the middle of the courtyard, at the center of which was a small stage. The muses would have a performance there every few days, and even now Hermes could see a few of them tuning their instruments in preparation for later. Poseidon and Apollo were reclining on the grass, deep in conversation about something or other, as they waited for the concert to begin.

As Hermes drew closer, the Sea King's head snapped up, and he called the messenger over. **"Hermes! Is it true what we've been hearing? Has Kratos chosen a champion?"** The winged messenger paused as he realized how much attention that question had gathered. Every god, demigod, and divine being in the courtyard had dropped what they were doing and hurried over, hoping to confirm whatever rumors they'd been hearing. Hermes shrugged. He always had liked being the center of attention.

"Yes, yes, it's true. Our esteemed God of War and all-around killjoy Kratos was summoned by a mortal, and instead of casting this one into the abyss like so many before him, he gave him the chance to slaughter his foes in the name of Olympus. I just now returned from his home, where I delivered a scroll to help him use his new signature weapons."

"He has the Blades of Chaos then?" someone shouted. The assembled group broke into mutterings and confusion. Aphrodite slunk forward through the crowd.

"It's been a while since any of us have had cause to visit the mortal world," she purred. "I think the most important question right now is… is he cute?"

Hermes smirked at her as many of the other gods listening rolled their eyes. "Oh yeah, you'd like this guy. Blonde hair, blue eyes, big smile, really gutsy. Shows no fear to anyone, god or mortal."

"Ooh… maybe I ought to visit the mortal world for a little while. Maybe this champion would like to see that there's more to the gods then blood-crazed warriors and thieving tricksters." She turned and strolled away, but was stopped cold by Hermes' response.

"I don't think he's your type…"

Aphrodite turned and shot him an incredulous look. "Dear brother, are you forgetting who you speak to? I am the Goddess of Love, Lust, and Passion! There is no man who is not my type… and a fair number of women, too."

The smirk was now a full-blown grin. "Well, I never would have pegged you to one to rob the cradle like that…"

"And exactly what is that supposed to mean?"

"I said I never would have expected you to go after a twelve-year old boy." A whole new round of hushed voices and mutterings followed this announcement. Aphrodite looked affronted.

"Kratos chose a twelve year old to be his voice among the mortals?"

"He did indeed."

"Oh… well, perhaps in a few years then." She left, and a clamor of voices raised further questions to the messenger.

Hermes laughed, and raised his hands. "Dear family, please! I'm running a bit late as it is, and if I don't speak with Kratos soon, he'll be out for my hide! Oh, Leda," the messenger said, turning to a pretty young demigoddess who was apprenticed to the Muses. "How lucky that you're here. Do you know where I can find your father?"

The girl, whose appearance suggested that she was no older than fourteen, smiled up at her favorite uncle. "Of course! He's at the Eastern Arena, sparring with Auntie Athena. Where else would he be while mother is helping Gramma Hera?"

Hermes matched her smile with one of his own. "Of course he is. Your old man really needs to get a hobby other then attacking anything that might fight back." He returned his attention to the crowd and addressed them one more time before flitting off on his winged sandals. "Don't worry, after I go tell Kratos about my meeting with the kid, I'll be sure to fill the rest of you in!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hermes arrived at the Arena less then a minute later. He settled against one of the fine marble columns ringing the fighting pit, content to watch two of the greatest warriors to ever live clashing blade to blade. Both Athena and Kratos were in their full armor, ready for war. Athena was resplendent in a white tunic, with a breastplate of bronze and gold over it. Her hair was held in a bun by a headdress of gold wire, which traced down her neck and jaw and over her forehead, with small green gems at the intersections. Her opponent was in plates of iron, with a depiction of a pair of hounds baying on his chest. Curling ram's horns were engraved on his bronze pauldrons, and upon the shining golden guard running from his right shoulder to his wrist: the legendary Golden Fleece of the Argonauts.

Athena was currently on the defensive, parrying the blows Kratos was raining down with superlative skill. She used a pair of short swords, the gilding along the blades shining in the light. It was a testament to her ability that such light weapons were able to redirect the massive force put behind every attack from Kratos and his Blades of Athena.

The weapons, a replacement for the Blades of Chaos that had been both granted and taken away by Ares, were engulfed in blood-red flames. Their wielder finally swept his opponent's defenses aside, and crossed his blades at her stomach, only half an inch of celestial bronze between the Goddess of Civilization and evisceration. Just as Kratos was about to claim victory, he found that her own swords were in position to clip his throat. As was so often the case, the match was a stalemate.

The gods straightened up and sheathed their weapons, their fight over for now. **"Your third parry was too slow. I could have taken your head off with ease had this been a real fight." **Kratospointed out.

"I had been hoping you would try, that was a feint." Athena countered, as she tried to steady her breathing.

They turned as someone began to softly applaud, and saw Hermes watching their mock battle from the sidelines. **"Hermes. What kept you? Did you deliver the scroll?"**

Athena ignored her brothers for the moment, not wanting to eavesdrop. She instead focused on readying for her next fight with the youngest son of Zeus, knowing that neither of them would be satisfied with only three fights. She checked that her long brown hair was still properly held back into her elaborate headdress, not wanting it to fall in her eyes at an inopportune moment. It was fine. She tugged a little at her breastplate, shifting it so that it fit more comfortably. Much better. The Goddess of Wisdom overheard Hermes say something about Kratos' mortal champion being disrespectful and fearless. Good, maybe putting up with someone who didn't cower in awe at his might would knock the God of War down a few pegs. She knelt to retie her sandal-_ WAIT A MINUTE!_ **"Wait, champion? Since when do you have a mortal champion?! You've never taken a champion!" **

Kratos shot her an annoyed look. **"Since two days ago. The little fool summoned me using an old insignia from a Spartan temple. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he had a lot of potential. Hermes is returning from delivering an instruction scroll for the Blades of Chaos,"** He shifted his glare onto their brother, who tried to look innocent (he failed).** "And he was supposed to be back yesterday. He was just about to explain what delayed him. Isn't that right, Hermes?"**

"**Of course. Well, after giving the boy the scroll and a lift to his academy, I took a look around the city, to try to get a feel for the place. I came to some interesting conclusions."** Hermes trailed off, looking thoughtful. There was a moment of silence before Kratos prompted him.

"…**And those are?"**

"**That city has a lot of pretty girls."**

"…_**AND?"**_

"**And it actually reminds me strongly of Sparta. A strong militaristic nation-state, where children are trained from childhood to be the greatest warriors they can be. Not as intense, though. Military service is strictly voluntary, and the children aren't separated from their parents, they just attend lessons during the day. And before you dismiss them as a pale imitation of your beloved home, Kratos, I watched some of the adults training. They may not be as good with spear and shield as the crew you used to run with, but they could go toe-to-toe against a Spartan soldier and have a better chance then most at winning. One of their elite could defeat one of the legendary Three Hundred."**

Kratos was dubious at this claim, and sad as much. **"I somehow doubt they would find it so easy. What about three hundred of them against the entire Three Hundred of Leonidas?"**

"**They would actually win that fight fairly easily. These mortals… they have some odd powers. I watched some practicing some sort of elemental magic I'm unfamiliar with. It's not just parlor tricks and deception, they were actually breathing fire. Others caused the ground to form into beds of spikes, or soften into mud. A phalanx would be of little use against their such methods. Without their techniques, though, the Spartans would win. None of them typically carry any weapons bigger than a style of sword I'm unfamiliar with, and their throwing weapons would be of little use against a proper shield wall."**

"**We can discuss the military strength of this nation later," **Athena interrupted.** "For now, I want to hear about how a mortal managed to impress Kratos enough to be made champion." **

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The sun was high and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as the newly graduated Genin Team Seven left their training ground. A pleasant breeze swept by, carrying on it the faint sounds of birdsong. It was as if all of nature was celebrating the success of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Too bad they were too busy yelling at each other to notice.

"I still can't believe you tried to do that, Sasuke-teme!"

The teme in question snorted in derision. "Don't blame me for being a realist. The strong succeed and the weak fail. That's how the real world works."

"What does that have to do with stabbing your teammates in the back?!"

Sakura nervously glanced between her teammates. Ordinarily, she would have already screamed at Naruto for talking to Sasuke that way, and probably bopped him on the head for whatever his response was, but she decided to hold her immediate response for the moment. After all, she was still a bit upset that Sasuke would think so little of them even after they helped him. For now, she would let Naruto say the things she could never bring herself to say to her beloved Sasuke-kun.

The argument continued unabated as they reached the edges of the village proper, but then Naruto stopped walking. Sakura and Sasuke watched, the girl in unconcealed astonishment and the boy in barely contained jealous rage, as Naruto bit his thumbs deep enough to break skin, and drew lines of blood over the chains on his arms. The metal smoked and glowed, and both the chains and the blades crossed over his back seemed to sink inward, disappearing into the blonde's flesh. "Naruto…" Sakura eventually managed to get out. "How did you do that? Where did those weapons go? For that matter, where did you get them? You never had them before we graduated!"

Naruto grinned, scratching the back of his head in his accustomed manner. "They were a gift! They're called the Blades of Chaos! Pretty neat, huh? I'm still learning the basics, but I think I was using them pretty well back there. Wasn't I?"

"What you were doing was the _basics_?!" Sakura gasped in disbelief. "You made magma erupt out of the ground!"

"Yeah! I can't wait to see what the advanced stuff can do!"

Sasuke's anger deepened every second as he tried to understand how an idiot who would probably die on his first mission could luck into such tools of obvious power. The pink one wasn't helping as she gawked at Naruto (though he certainly wasn't jealous for the attention. No sir. Not at all.). Sasuke sneered as he considered what a waste it was for whoever gave the fool those Blades of Whatever to such an unworthy excuse for a ninja.

"Oi, dobe. Tell me who gave you those weapons."

Naruto gave Sasuke a shocked look. "What? Why do you care?"

"Just tell me, fool."

The shorter genin frowned. There was something about the he had asked, or rather, demanded, that was setting Naruto off… "Why should I?" As he asked, he felt a stirring in the back of his mind.

"_**He obviously wants to get his hands on a set of Blades of Chaos of his own."**_

"_Do you think I should tell him then, Kyuubi?"_

"Heh. Go ahead and tell the moody little meatsock about Kratos. If he even believes you and somehow manages to summon him, he'll never pass the test of the soul. Besides, his reaction to finding out you're the chosen representative of a god ought to be good for a laugh."

"Okay. They were given to me by Kratos, the God of War. I summoned him, and he decided I was worthy to bear his signature weapons in his name. Yesterday morning, another god, a guy named Hermes, he's the Messenger God, stopped by my apartment to give me a scroll explaining how to use them, and he taught me how to hide them like I just did. He said he'd be seeing me around, so I guess I haven't seen the last of him."

Blank stares.

Naruto sighed. "Right. So, Sakura-chan? Wanna go get some ramen? I'll pay…"

Blank stares. They appeared to be trying to decide if Naruto actually believed what he had told them or if he was pulling their legs.

"Okay… see you tomorrow, then." Naruto turned and left.

After a moment, both Sasuke and Sakura managed to rouse themselves from their disbelieving stupor. Sakura glanced nervously at the boy she one day hoped to marry, "Sasuke-kun… do you think he was telling the truth?"

The Uchiha simply gave a noncommittal grunt in response.

"Well… would you like to go out, to celebrate? I could treat…"

He grunted again, muttering something about training as he turned away from her and began walking back to the old Uchiha district.

She frowned. Sasuke was so sure that having teammates would slow his progress. Sakura would just have to prove him wrong. She vowed then and there she would become a powerful kunoichi, and never be the one to hold Sasuke back.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Her resolve lasted right up until they were given their first mission the next morning. Kakashi had been late again, saying something about black cats and bad luck, but his pathetic attempt to explain away two hours of tardiness was met with two genin shouting "LIAR!" He managed to get their attention by telling them about the assignment he had selected for their first mission as ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"You will be tracking a target of great significance. Intelligence on the subject's location is extremely vague and several hours old, and it is assumed that the subject will resist capture at any and all cost. Recovering this target unharmed and quickly is of extreme importance. Understood?" Even Sasuke was unable to completely hide his excitement at these words, as a challenging mission would be an excellent gauge of his progress.

It goes without saying that all three genin were extremely disappointed when they learned that the subject was an escaped pet cat belonging to the wife of the Lord of the Fire Country.

And as the weeks passed, it became evident at exactly how low on the totem pole freshly-graduated genin were. It was hard to say what the worst mission was, as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all placed greater weight on the missions that inconvenienced themselves the most. Naruto swore that the worst mission was the time they had to walk a massive pack of dogs for the pound. His problem with such a simple assignment was that the dogs had apparently considered his scent to be slightly fox-like, and had chased him all over town. He had lost the seat of his pants and a fair amount of dignity on that mission.

Sasuke's opinion differed, as he maintained that the worst mission was when they had done some repair work to the Academy's throwing weapon range, and an overly enthusiastic second year student had nearly pinned Sasuke's ear to the wall with a kunai. The Uchiha had jerked aside barely in time, allowing Sasuke to leave that incident with nothing more than a small scar on his cheek that Kakashi-sensei assured him wasn't noticeable unless he got a deep tan.

Sakura had taken issue with a mission to baby-sit a set of two-year-old triplets. Each had an allergy to a different food, and they apparently had switched jars when Sakura's back was turned. When she fed them, they all began vomiting all over the kitchen floor and her favorite dress.

And this was on top of needing to hunt down the same goddamned cat every few days.

Surprisingly, Naruto was the least dissatisfied with the missions. Sure, he hated some of the assignments, as most D-rank tasks were things civilians simply didn't want to do; but he was making much more money then his monthly allowance had provided. He had been able to replace his torn pants without wasting half of his cash. Sure, he had dreamed of missions that took him around the world, fighting tyrants and rescuing princesses and all those other things ninja do in stories; but these simple missions that never took them outside the village and lasted only a few hours gave Naruto plenty of time to practice with his blades, catch up with Iruka-sensei, and occasionally meet with his new friend Hinata.

And she was fast becoming a good friend to Naruto, especially considering that neither of them had really had much in the way of friends before. They would meet at Ichiraku's, or the training fields, or they would stop and say hello when turning in mission reports at the Hokage Tower. The two would simply talk, enjoying having a conversation with someone who was friendly and wasn't an authority figure. Topics would run from comparing assignments, to how Sasuke had pissed Naruto off recently, to the latest silly thing Kiba had done, to how Kurenai and Kakashi taught their teams. Naruto had ranted for nearly half an hour after hearing how much effort Kurenai put into teaching and training her students, especially compared to Kakashi.

Hinata was supplying more then companionship to Naruto, though. After he had told her about his patron and his colleagues, she had begun searching the Hyuuga Clan's archives whenever she had a chance, seeking references or histories that mentioned the names Hermes or Kratos. At first she had little luck, but after a week she hit paydirt. She discovered a bounty of very old scrolls and books that detailed the sordid lives of the Olympian Gods, their servants and children among the mortals, and even the Titans. She had shown them to Naruto, and he had been excited by the thought of learning more about the entity that had marked him.

There were dozens of incredible stories of mighty heroes and horrible monstrosities, and the Ninetails added comments from his own perspective, as he had been alive at the time. Hinata was moved to tears by the tragic tale of Orpheus and his wife Eurydice, and Naruto was enthralled by the unshakeable bravery of the Spartans at Thermopylae. The story held all new meaning for him when Kyuubi reminded him that Kratos was from Sparta, and had taken the city under his patronage.

From both the histories and from what the Ninetails knew (which Naruto passed on to Hinata), Kratos was one of the many, many children of Zeus, sired on a mortal woman and kept ignorant of his father's identity. Raised in Sparta, Kratos was trained to be a soldier from the day he could walk, just as all Spartan males were. He quickly rose to the top of his age group, as the toughest, strongest, and most ruthless of all the trainee soldiers. Upon reaching manhood, he became the youngest captain in the entire Spartan army, with fifty men under his command. As the tally of victories grew longer, his command grew larger… until he was the general of thousands of the toughest, most skilled soldiers to ever raise a shield. They never suffered a loss until… that day.

Naruto had realized that the events described were the very same that he had envisioned the night he was given the Blades of Chaos. A barbarian horde attacking Sparta, the city's proud defenders falling back from their overwhelming ferocity, Kratos calling for aid from Ares.

That was another thing: Kratos wasn't the original God of War. Apparently, Ares had been the War God, but he was a conniving, cowardly backstabber. Kratos had served him faithfully for several years, leading his army in the name of the God of War, and then… well, that was when the stories conflicted. No one was really sure what had happened, not even Kyuubi, but suddenly, Kratos had taken over the position of God of War, and Ares wasn't mentioned any further. Thankfully, Kratos placed much more stock in valor and courage than his predecessor, and made the title one to be proud of. It was rumored that he was the only being, god, Titan, or otherwise, to truly be more powerful than Zeus, and that the Lord of the Heavens actually feared his son's strength.

Naruto had taken to reading these stories as his team waited for Kakashi. Sakura had demanded to know what he was reading (she was irked that she hadn't thought to bring reading material first), but had given him a funny look when he had responded "The Labors of Hercules." She was clearly surprised that his book wasn't smutty or about shinobi, and fairly put out that the dummy was reading a book that big that she hadn't heard of.

All in all, things were going better for Naruto then they had for… well, ever.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Konoha's Jinchuriki parted the short curtain that separated the outside world from that little slice of heaven known as Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. Stepping through, Naruto cheerfully greeted Ayame, the waitress and daughter of the stand's owner, turned to his usual seat, and… found it occupied.

Yamanaka Ino was sitting on Naruto's favorite stool, enjoying what appeared to be a bowl of shrimp ramen. Naruto was surprised to see her there, the way she was always going on about being on a diet so she could be nice and thin for her Sasuke-kun. Not wanting to make an issue of her choice of seat, Naruto just sat down next to her on Iruka's usual spot.

"Hi, Ino! What are you doing here?"

The blonde girl turned and raised one delicate eyebrow at him, pointedly lifting a few more noodles to her lips. "I'm eating, what does it look like?"

"Hey, no need to get snippy," Naruto said, before turning and ordering five bowls of miso ramen to start. "I just thought you would be eating with your family, or your team. And aren't you always saying how fattening ramen is?"

Ino just shrugged. "That's why I don't have it often. I can be bad on occasion as long as I stick to my diet most of the time. And I just really needed to get away from those idiots for a while. We've gone to the same barbecue restaurant every night this week!"

"You got Shikamaru and Chouji for teammates, right? They aren't that bad. Cut them some slack!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ino stared into her ramen bowl. "They aren't bad, not really. I could have had worse teammates. They just annoy me so much sometimes! Shikamaru never does anything he isn't forced to, Chouji never stops eating, not even during training, and Asuma-sensei would rather sit around smoking and playing old man games with Shikamaru then train us! At this rate, I'll never be a strong kunoichi."

Naruto grinned at her, wanting to cheer her up. "Look at it this way. At least your sensei teaches you stuff and goes places with you! Kakashi-sensei hasn't taught us anything since that stupid bell test. He just makes us wait for hours before he shows up, gives us some lame assignment, then sits around reading that perverted book of his until we finish!"

"Bell test? Well, I bet your team hasn't had to mow all the lawns in a five block area because the gardener broke his leg!"

"That's nothing! We had to paint three coats onto a quarter-mile-long fence!"

"We had to skim half a ton of leaves and bugs out of a city council member's swimming pool!"

"I got my pants torn up by a pack of dogs! That's why I've got these, now." He indicated his current attire, which Ino had already noticed was different then his normal orange eyesore. His pants were of a similar design, but in black, and instead of his garish orange jacket, he had on a darker reddish-orange vest over his normal T-shirt. Not bad, especially compared to before, Ino decided. "At least now Kakashi-sensei doesn't complain about me standing out on missions."

"Hmmph. We had to clean out an old shed in someone's back yard, and there was a barrel full of year-old apples in there! There were flies everywhere!"

"Yeah, well nothing could have been grosser than when Kakashi-sensei volunteered us at the retirement center. I had to rub this stinky ointment onto an old lady's bunions!"

Ino scowled at Naruto. "Emptying a septic tank."

"Okay, you win."

They sat in silence for a moment, not eating (not after _that_ discussion), and it was Ino who spoke first. "So, speaking of teammates… How's Sasuke-kun? Does Forehead Girl still think she can take him away from me?"

"Uh… that's one way of putting it, I guess. Sakura-chan still keeps trying to get his attention, but it doesn't work." Seeing Ino's triumphant look, he was quick to add, "She's not having any more luck with him than you are." Her smirk became another scowl. "Sasuke ignores both of us whenever he can. Keeps saying that being part of a team will slow him down."

Naruto chuckled quietly before returning to his ramen. "Get this. He's started bringing a kusari-gama to meetings. He won't answer any questions about it, but it's so obvious he's jealous of me for having my own chain blades." He ignored Ino's questioning look. "I still don't get why Sakura-chan chases him so much when I'd go out with her in a heartbeat, but…"

Ino slammed her hand on the countertop, interrupting him. "Of course she chases him! She does for the same reasons I do! He's cool, he's strong, he's hot, he's the best ninja around! Every girl wants him!"

"But he's such a jerk!"

"Don't call him names! He is not a jerk! He's the most sought-after guy in town!"

"Doesn't mean he's not a jerk." Naruto pouted. They both sulked for a moment, but then Naruto thought of something. "Hey, Ino… let me ask you something."

"Let's hear it."

"If you were to describe your perfect guy, not any one guy in particular, just the perfect guy, how would you describe him?"

"Um… why do you ask?"

"Just humor me, will ya?"

"Well… he would have to be nice, and funny, and have a great smile, and be sensitive to my feelings…"

"But Sasuke isn't any of those things."

Ino froze. As much as she hated to admit it… "Um… well, he… I… just shut up!"

Naruto finished his last bowl of ramen, and signaled to Ayame for five more. Ino watched with the usual astounded, mildly disgusted expression most people wore when they saw Naruto eat ramen as he piled into his meal with gusto. "And I thought Chouji was a big eater…"She watched him go for a moment more, before finishing her own bowl, putting the money on the counter, and standing up. "See you around, Naruto. Good luck with your sensei."

The vessel swallowed his latest mouthful of the heavenly noodles, and turned to face her. "Thanks, Ino. You too!" They parted ways for the night, as Ino returned home, she found herself thinking about Naruto. '_Maybe there's more to him then I thought…'_ She smirked a little as she walked. _'Still not as cool as Sasuke-kun, though.'_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Good morning, team seven… if only just." The Hokage puffed on his pipe as he considered the children standing before him. "Since it's almost noon, nearly all of the other teams have come and selected their assignments already." The three genin, the Hokage, Iruka (who was there to help Sarutobi sort the mission assignments), and even the two chuunin guarding the door shot a glare at Kakashi, who was reading his book obliviously. "So, your choices are… clearing poison oak out of a vacant lot… or clearing poison sumac out of an overgrown drainage ditch. Alternatively, you could clear poison ivy off of the trail leading up the side of the Hokage Monument. So," he said, with a dry chuckle, "Pick your poison."

_"NO WAY!_ Come on, Old Man, give us a real mission!" Naruto's outburst was cut short by his sensei's fist, which had bopped him over the head. Surprisingly, though, Sakura agreed with her loud teammate.

"Naruto's right! Hokage-sama, we've been doing D-Rank missions for a month now! Can't we get a better mission by now? I know we meet official requirements, I looked them up a week ago! 'A genin team must have completed a minimum of fifteen D-Rank missions before a C-Rank can be requested.' We've done twenty-four!"

Iruka slammed his hand on the table to quiet the genin down, much as he had often done in class. "Naruto! Sakura! Show some respect! Sakura, you apparently missed the part in the requirements that specifies that after fifteen D-Ranks, the _jounin instructor_ can request a C-Rank!"

"Iruka." That single calm word from the village's supreme authority figure was enough to silence the chuunin's anger. "They are within their rights, and they are indeed qualified. To be honest, I am surprised that Kakashi-kun hasn't requested one already."

The jounin in question looked up from his book, ran a glance over his students, and returned to his reading. "Mmm… I suppose they could handle one. Hokage-sama, I would like to formally request a C-Rank mission for genin team seven."

The Hokage nodded, but Iruka looked like he was struggling to hold his tongue. After a moment, he sighed in defeat and sat down, rifling through the scrolls on the table before him. "Here's a simple one. It's an escort and guard mission, consisting of two or three days of travel, followed by about two or three weeks of guard work. No distinct threats, just a precaution against bandits and highwaymen. Perfect for a genin's first C-Rank."

Naruto whooped in excitement, Sakura gave a quiet cheer, and Sasuke tightened his grip on his new weapon, a feral grin appearing on his face for a brief second. Kakashi said, without looking up, "I think it meets with their approval."

"So who are we protecting?" Naruto asked gleefully. "A princess? A daimyo? An ambassador?"

Iruka smirked at his favorite student, knowing that the look he was about to have on his face would be priceless. "Sir, you can come in now. We have your escort selected." The door at the back of the room slid open, and team seven turned, eager to meet their client.

An old man slumped against the door frame, a bottle raised to his lips, and the pungent aroma of sake wafted in with him. "_These_ little runts are my protection?" he slurred, blinking owlishly from behind his glasses. "They're just kids! They can't fight!" He took another swig from his bottle, and belched. All three of the "kids" were staring, horrified, hoping that this was a bad joke. "The super short one looks especially useless!"

Naruto took a deep, calming breath, looked to the right, at Sasuke… looked to the left, at Sakura… yup, Naruto was the short one. He lunged forward, only to be restrained by his teammates. His arms flailed in the client's general direction as the blonde shouted _"LEMME HURT'IM JUST A LITTLE BIT!"_

Sarutobi ignored the outburst from the loudest genin under his command, and introduced the client, knowing that Kakashi was listening, even if his team wasn't. "This is Tazuna-san. He is an architect from Wave Country, and he is on way home. However, there have been reports of some bandit activity along the route, so it will be your objective to see him safely home, then maintain a guard until his latest project is complete. You will leave at nine tomorrow morning."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

At noon the next day (damn you Kakashi), team seven and their client set out from the gates of Konoha. Tazuna was softly groaning and rubbing his head, obviously in the throes of a hangover. Kakashi had his nose, as always, buried in his little orange book. Sakura was alternating between talking to Sasuke about anything she could think of and asking Tazuna questions about his homeland. Under any other circumstances, he would have been more then happy to tell her about the Land of the Waves, but for the time being he was just wishing she would let him suffer in peace.

Naruto was walking in silence, and for once it wasn't because he was talking to the Ninetails. He was both nervous and excited at the thought of a real mission with the prospect of real fighting. He was already missing the familiarity of Konoha a little bit, and they had only been walking for three hours. He'd met Hinata-chan for dinner at Ichiraku's the night before, and he had told both the Hyuuga Heiress and their friend Ayame about his newest mission. They'd congratulated him, but also asked to be careful. He promised them he would come back safe and sound, and they both knew well exactly how seriously he took promises.

The blonde had shown up a few minutes late (by the standards of the rest of the group, he was still hours early by Kakashi standards), but he had the Blades of Chaos out and ready. It was the first time he had them visible outside of his own training since the bell test. Sasuke's reaction to this had been amusing, to say the least. He had tightened his grip on the kusari-gama at his on side, a vein throbbing on his temple as he glared at Naruto and the weapons on his back.

A traditional shinobi weapon, the kusari-gama consisted of a sickle at one end, a long length of chain in the middle, and a metal weight at the other end. Normally, the weight would be used as a bludgeon or to ensnare the limbs or weapons of an enemy, allowing the wielder to race in with the sickle before the target could recover. The sickle end would never be swung, as the odds were that the weapon would not strike pointy-side first, and so would bounce off. However, it was quite simple to wield it in that manner when one knew the proper method of applying chakra… unfortunately, Sasuke had yet to master that method and so was restricted to the standard technique. An effective weapon, but nowhere near as lethal as Naruto's chained blades… meaning nowhere near as lethal as Sasuke wanted.

The first day of travel and the first night passed without any significant events happening (well… unless you count Kakashi waking everyone with a low-level water technique as significant). It was now mid-afternoon on the second day, and they were approaching the border of Fire Country and Wave Country. They were in what had become their standard order of march: Naruto was in front, eagerly leading the way (and occasionally ending up far enough ahead of the rest that he would be forced to stop and wait impatiently for them to catch up). Sakura walked next to Tazuna, talking animatedly with the bridge builder, who was now in the proper condition to answer her questions. Sasuke was behind them, close enough to listen, but not so close as to look interested. And Kakashi held the rearguard position, reading, you guessed it, Icha Icha Paradise.

It was at this point that Kyuubi spoke up for the first time that day. _**"Tell me, have you noticed anything odd about your surroundings?"**_

Naruto stumbled a bit, startled by the apparent non sequitur from his inner demon. _"Um… not really. Why, do you see something?"_

_**"I see many things. Since I must use you eyes in order to see at all, everything I see is what **__**you**__** see. A better question would have been, 'Have I **__**noticed**__** something?'"**_

_"Okay. Have you?"_

"Yes. Try and figure out what it is. And do it quickly, as if it means what I believe it does, you have little time."

Naruto started scanning his environment, seeking out anything out of place, but nothing jumped out at him. He began to catalogue everything around him, in the hopes that the Kyuubi would throw him a bone. _"Well, uh… there's some birds over there… but it's summer, so that's normal. That squirrel looks suspicious… no, wait, it just looks squirrelly. There's a dead tree over there by the puddle. Is that it?"_

_**"No, but you're closer than you think. How's the weather today?"**_

Naruto was really starting to wonder if something was wrong with his furry prisoner, but still answered. _"Uh… it's nice out. It's been sunny all week. Nice breeze, too. But what does that-"_

_**"Based on what you just said, which of the things you listed is out of place?"**_

Naruto slowed as he concentrated, trying to see what the Ninetails was trying to make him understand. _Sunny… breezy… tree… puddle… sunny all week…_ He stopped cold. "Where did that puddle come from?" He turned back, as the group had already passed the out-of-place pool of water. He could see Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes widen as they realized what he was getting at, and they immediately took up defensive positions around Tazuna. But none of them were able to do anything more than watch in horror as a pair of unknown shinobi leapt from where a puddle had been a few seconds before, and wrapped a bladed length of chain around their teacher.

That one second seemed to stretch into infinity for Naruto. Everything seemed to hold still, and he could see everything in almost supernatural clarity. He could see his teammates tensing in fear. He could see the terror in Tazuna's eyes. He saw Kakashi's assailants, their ragged gray cloaks shrouding their forms, gas masks covering their faces, wild black hair held back by gouged forehead protectors. Missing-nin.

He could see the light glinting off the steel of their clawed gauntlets, and off the length of razor-edged links that stretched between the two. Naruto's gaze moved to his teacher, mind racing as he tried to figure what he should- what he _could _do. But to his amazement, Kakashi's eye held no fear. There was confidence, there was calm, and there was absolutely no surprise. And then the loops of edged steel were tightened, and Kakashi fell to the ground in pieces.

"_NOOOOOOO_!" The world returned to it's normal speed, and the enemy nin were already in motion. "One down," the one on the left muttered.

As Naruto was at the front of the group, he was the furthest from the attackers. One made a beeline for Sasuke, and the other lunged for Sakura and Tazuna. Naruto hesitated, not sure who to help. Sasuke leapt forward to meet his attacker, and managed to intercept the first blow with the kama (sickle) of his kusari-gama. _He's managing. Sakura it is, then._

Sakura was standing ready, a kunai held in a defensive stance and Tazuna behind her. The second enemy nin was heading straight for her, and it was taking all of her considerable willpower not to panic. She readied herself for the attack that was to come- but at the last second, the missing-nin from the Village Hidden in the Mist- even under such conditions, her mind noted and identified the symbol on his scratched Hitai-Aite- sprang to one side, and darted past the kunoichi. "Tazuna-san! Look out!" She tried to intercept the attack, but she could already tell she wouldn't be fast enough. But to her great surprise, instead of the expected sound of a man's dying gasp, she heard the clang of metal against metal.

Naruto was there, Blades of Chaos in hand, holding back the missing-nin's strike. The man's clawed gauntlet clutched at the flaming steel, as the two engaged in a brief contest of strength. His gray eyes, cold and heartless, glared into Naruto's deep blue. "Give it up, little genin," he growled, his voice given a creepy distortion by his oxygen mask. "Even if you did have a chance to beat me , my brother will join me as soon as he finishes off your little friend."

The jinchuriki's gaze flicked over his enemy's shoulder, and a feral grin rose out of his snarl. "Really? 'Cause it looks like my sensei is kicking his ass pretty good."

"Nice try, kid, but I'm not falling for a trick as lame as- urk!" The assassin dropped like a sack of bricks, Kakashi's strike to his neck having instantly sent him to dreamland, to join his already unconscious brother.

After reassuring his students that he was alright, he explained that he had merely used the substitution technique to escape the trap and observe the Demon Brothers' (as he called them) intent. It was clear that, after dispatching the jounin, the men of Kiri had immediately targeted the only noncombatant in the party. "Tazuna-san? I do believe you have some explaining to do."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chapter Three, out the door! I know, I'm sorry, this chapter was shorter than the first two, but I wanted to separate the chapters at this point, as I want a little feedback on an issue before I advance the story any further.

A lot of people are commenting on my choices for Naruto's harem. Some want one person or another added, or removed, for this reason or that. Well, I'm stubborn. But now, there's a change I'm considering, and I want to hear what you think. This isn't a vote, I make no promises. I just want to get a feel for what you think. And I'll say it right now: If you try and provide a reason for why this girl or that should or shouldn't be included, don't bother telling me "It's too common/rare". I don't care. How common a pairing is doesn't effect how much I like it. If I like it, then it's a good thing that it's common. If I dislike it, I'm glad it's rare.

Anyway, here's the issue. As I have stated previously, the current plans are a harem of three girls, Hinata, Ino, and Tenten. However, I am considering adding a girl, or using her to replace one. Here are the options you have to choose from.

Option one: Status quo. Keep it Naru/Hina/Ino/Ten.

Option Two: Addition. Make it Naru/Hina/Ino/Ten/FemHaku.

Option Three: Replacement. Make it Naru/Hina/Ino/FemHaku.

Hinata and Ino are in, no matter what. Currently, I'm leaning towards option three. Though I would feel a little bad about tossing Tenten out in the cold like that, it's going to be tough enough to maintain a balanced relationship between one guy and three girls, much less four.

To be honest, I'm also a little tempted to toss Temari, Kin, Hanabi, and/or Ayame in there, but there is no way I'm going as high as five girls. Probably. Damn my being a red-blooded young adult male and having such an interesting imagination… Seriously, five is more than I could handle writing, even four is pushing it.

Oh, one last thing about this harem decision: No older girls. As much as I like the characters of Kurenai, Anko, Shizune, and (God help us) Tsunade, and as much as I enjoy reading well written stories pairing them with Naruto, I am not adding anyone that much older than him to the harem. Period.

And for those of you who noticed: what's this? Kratos' wife and daughter are not only alive, but they are living on Mount Olympus? How can this be?

To make up this chapter's length to you, and the fact that it may be a while before I'm able to update again, I'm adding a few outtakes and goofy things I thought of and liked, but couldn't work into the story. Don't consider them canon to the main story, or anything. Enjoy!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Outtake 1: History Repeating Itself**

_Thirty Years After the Attack of the Nine Tailed Fox_

"Hokage-sama? They have arrived."

"Iruka, how many times do I need to tell you?" Uzumaki Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage of Konohakagure, looked up at his first teacher and longtime friend, bright blue eyes looking up from under his big traditional hat. "I'll always be Naruto to you. You don't need to be so formal."

The jounin smirked at his former student/foster brother/commanding officer. "Understood, Hokage-sama."

Naruto simply shook his head as he settled behind his desk. "I liked it better when I was the smartass. Let them in. Lets see what they have to say to explain themselves." Iruka nodded, turned on his heel, and left the Hokage's office. He returned a moment later, leading a delegation of foreign ninja surrounding a richly dressed ambassador. When the diplomat spoke, his voice was deep, and unctuous.

"I bear greetings from the Lords of Earth Country, Rokudaime Hokage-sama. The Tsuchikage wishes he could meet you in person, but unfortunately, he currently has far too many demands on his time to do so."

"I'm sure. Planning raids on defenseless towns must be exhausting work."

The barb didn't phase the Iwa ambassador in the slightest. "He asks that I come before you in his name, that we may come to a mutually beneficial resolution to thew current situation as swiftly as possible."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "Translation: you're here to give us the terms of our surrender."

"No surrender need be involved, honored Hokage. Simply a token display of fealty to the will of Iwa. A small donation of earth, and water."

"Earth, and water… you've come to the wrong place for that, I'm afraid. This is Fire Country, you're the ones from Earth Country. And as I understand it, you've already launched a few attacks into Water Country, so you should be set for that. We have fire though, we'll happily provide you with lots and lots of fire. Will that help?"

The ambassador from Stone seemed to be loosing his patience with the Hokage's flippant comments. "You don't seem to understand your position here, _Hokage-sama_," he spat, making the title sound like a curse. "The armies of all Earth Country and our allies wait to descend upon you. They want their revenge for the last war, and they will jump at any opportunity to take it. The only way your people will survive is if you accept Tsuchikage-sama's generous terms, and submit!"

The Chosen of the War God mulled that over for a moment. "Submit… You say we need to submit to your lord." He stood, and walked around the ambassador's escort, sliding open the office doors. "Walk with me." He strolled away down the hall without waiting for the ambassador, who scurried to catch up.

"Tsuchikage-sama offers much, should you accept, Hokage. You worry for your people? They will be safer then they are even now. You worry for your village? It will be more prosperous than ever before. You worry for your seat of power? You will rule all of Fire Country, not merely the region surrounding the village. And all you must do… is kneel before him." Their walk had taken Naruto, the diplomat, and his escort to a broad balcony on the Hokage Tower's top floor, which offered a fantastic view of the village, the Hokage Monument, and the surrounding forest. Several Leaf-nin were already there, and more filtered up behind the Stone-nin to watch the proceedings.

Naruto didn't answer immediately, instead gazing upon the six faces carved into the stone of the mountainside. Two of those faces he knew personally. One he had seen only once in person- the day he was born, the day the Ninetails was sealed within his body. And the last, he saw in the mirror every day.

Naruto sighed, and slid off the traditional Hokage robes, leaving his upper body clad in only a dark orange vest, Doing so revealed a few things, a few… momentos, from the adventures he'd had in the past. Chains of iron and bronze, wrapped around each forearm. A small tattoo in the shape of a blue trident on his left bicep. A massive patch of scar tissue, directly over his heart. There were no other scars, he still healed too well for that.

The Rokudaime tossed the robes on the railing, leaning against it as his gaze wandered across the village he loved so much. This action gave the ambassador a clear view of what else the heavy Hokage robes had covered: the Rokudaime Hokage's legendary weapons, the Blades of Chaos. They were just as magnificent as the rumors claimed, all bronze and iron, with a massive red gem set in the guard of each. The jewels glowed, lit from within by an unknown power. Arcane runes the color of fresh blood shimmered along the flat of each blade. Weapons fit for a king.

His reverie was interrupted by the Hokage speaking, without bothering to turn around. "You still haven't told me one thing. Exactly how does your lord intend to force us to submit, should we refuse to do so willingly? Last I checked, Konoha was still the most powerful Hidden Village around."

The Ambassador smiled grimly, stepping up to the railing next to the Hokage. "You are correct, the Leaf Village is powerful. Enough so that an outright attempt to conquer it would be of extreme difficulty. However, what you apparently have not yet been informed of is that we have accepted the remnants of Sound Village into our fold, and that we have secured the Raikage as an ally."

"Cloud and sound nins, on top of your own forces. We'd be outnumbered a little more then two to one by forces that all bear a grudge against us."

"Exactly! Why throw yourselves into a war you cannot hope to win? Simply bow before the might of Tsuchikage-sama, and all of these worries disappear!"

Naruto sighed, straightened up, and stepped away from the railing. He turned, passing an emotionless gaze across the gathered Leaf-nins, close friends and comrades all, as they waited for his response. Wordlessly, he swiftly drew one of the Blades of Chaos and leveled it at the ambassador's throat. The man's escort began to draw weapons, but were immediately restrained by the Leaf-nin at their backs.

"Wh-what are you doing?! You cannot do this!" The man tried to back away, but he was already leaning against the railing, all that separated him from a twelve-story drop. "No one attacks a messenger! You cannot kill me!"

"You come before me full of threats for my village, bribes for myself, and conspiracies with my home's enemies, and you think I will simply stand by while my people are enslaved?"

"If you kill me, the Tsuchikage will burn your precious city to the ground! You cannot do this! _This is madness!_"

"Madness?" Naruto, Sixth Fire Shadow and the Chosen of Kratos, God of War, looked away. His spiky locks of blonde hair covered his deep blue eyes from view. A slow grin, a malicious and feral smile more suited to a wolf than a man spread across his face. When his head whipped back up, the ambassador recoiled from the Hokage's glowing red eyes and fanged grin. "_**This is Konoha**_" And with that pronouncement, Naruto lashed out at the diplomat, kicking him over the rail to the unforgiving ground below.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Outtake 2: The Wrong Scroll 

_**At the beginning of Chapter Two, when Hermes gives Naruto the training scroll**_

**"That's right. Oh, and I almost forgot… special delivery!"** And with the final word, Hermes rammed the scroll in his hand forward, slamming into Naruto's gut with incredible force… but rather then double the boy over in pain, the scroll simply vanished.

"…Okay, do I even need to ask?! What did you do now?!"

"I put the scroll into the seal. Now, it can never be stolen or lost, and the demon can read it and instruct you. As you reach new plateaus of skill, more will be revealed on the scroll."

"Really? So how do… wait. What's on that scroll that's making the fox go crazy?"

**"What? What do you mean?"**

Naruto looked confused, and more than a little worried as he looked up at Hermes. "He's… giggling, and squealing about 'hitting the jackpot', or something. I don't think fox demons are supposed to giggle."

**"That is odd… wait a minute…"**

"He's still laughing about something. Huh… what's a 'Cleveland Steamer'?"

**"Eep! Wrong scroll!"** The messenger god slammed his hand into Naruto's stomach again, this time withdrawing the scroll, accompanied by a disappointed howl from the fox. **"This one was a gift from Aphrodite… here's yours."**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Until next time. Later!


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